The Obsessed
by silver drip
Summary: Set during the Southern Wars. Bella is head of her own army and Jasper is in it. They are friends with benefits, but he is in love with her. A surprise happens when the Volturi show up. Many twists. Mostly JasperxBella with a side order of BellaxMarcus. Lemons and violence. Complete! R&R.
1. How to Properly Fight a War

**The Obsessed **

**Chapter1:** How to Properly Fight a War

Marcus' Point of View

The forward parties had been feeding us information through runners for the past three days. These Southern Wars were completely out of control. The house we had 'liberated' from one of the smaller groups in the war was our current base of operation. We three kings sat at a round table discussing the situation, never going into an attack without thorough planning.

One of the younger guards came in after knocking to give the most recent report. He bowed deeply before starting.

"We have come across a large coven just south of the Texas border. They number between 50 to 75 vampires." It was a startlingly high number. Most war covens had at most 40. "I've only identified 10 that aren't newborns. There are 4 that stand out but, I can't tell which one is the leader. They all seem to act independently, but to the same goal. One seems to be a supervisor of the main group, one trains the newborns, another acts as a scout, outlook, and helps with training, while the other is in charge of the blood supply as well as some sort of specialized group. Would you like me to draw you a picture of them, Masters?"

"Proceed." Aro said and inclined his head towards an inkwell and parchment. The guard took it quickly and started sketching.

"The first 3 are 2 males and a female. They are scarred up like most southern vampires. All have blond hair with varying shades." He showed us the three drawings and pointed to the one in the middle who was taller than the other three with a thin build. "I read some lips of newborns and they called him Major. He does the training of the newborns. I did not catch the name of the bulker male who does the scouting, but I think he is mated to this female who is in charge of the blood." The guard took a moment to draw the fourth person, a woman. "The supervisor is a brunette. I think she was looking at maps when I scouted them. The strange thing about her is that from where my team and I were I couldn't see a single scar on her." Aro picked up the drawing and the guard waited for us to ask questions or be dismissed. He handed Cauis the drawing then to me. I briefly glanced at it.

The tallest male, Major, had an air of violence to him. He could possibly be a good member of the guard if he had a gift. The stouter male was unremarkable, looking like any other vampire. The blond female had a certain charm to her and looked surprisingly plump compared to most vampires. The brunette female had a slight tilt to her eyes that almost made her look Western European, which wasn't surprising since these Americas seemed to have attracted many immigrants. He had drawn her sitting so I could not quite see how tall she was. Her unscarred flesh annoyed me for some reason.

"The brunette is probably the strategized rather than a fighter." Caius nodded at my words. "If we eliminate her before even engaging in a fight it might make things quicker, more efficient. The shorter male is probably not the leader. I think it would be best if I went out with the next scouting party to see the relationship bonds myself."

"A wise deduction." Aro said. "I agree. Alec should be added to the party as well, as a precautionary measure." We three nodded together. "Feed your group as a reward for a job well done then prepare them for their next mission and get Alec. When everything is put in place come here." Aro instructed the guard. He bowed then left. We three looked at each other. "In the thoughts of a captured vampire three battles back there was a rumor of one called The Major, a skilled fighter who used to fight under the banner of Maria. Her coven disappeared a few years ago while some of the remnant members joined another coven. He did not know which coven though." He paused in thought. "He could possibly make a good guard member. It is well known that he could strike fear into the unbeating hearts of his enemies with his gift, as well as other emotions."

"A possibly dangerous gift that could be used against us, but a thought worth entertaining." Caius said. They looked to me and I nodded in agreement. We three always agreed.

I returned to the book I had been reading before the guard came in. Aro returned to the large chest of gold and jewelry he had been playing with, creating new pieces by simply bending the metals. Caius looked at the newest maps the various scout parties made and brought back. The only noise in the room was the movie of paper, Aro's random chuckles, and the clinking of metal and jewels.

It was twenty minutes before there was another knock on the door. Soon after I was off with 5 other vampires in the direction of the enemy camp. We started to slow after 2 hours and Alec stuck close to my side, always a good guard. Our footsteps were nearly silent, completely unheard in the sound the soft breeze was causing. We had to circle around so as to stay upwind of the group. We kept low to the ground and soon the large encampment was in view.

It was a valley surrounded by two hills. There were a few tents set up as well as a few luxurious chairs. They had made no attempt to hide their location. I take in a deep breath, concentrating so as to see the various bonds. Slowly I surveyed the area. In the left portion there was about 40 vampires, all practicing fighting as the one called Major hissed out orders. Most of the bonds they had toward him were of fear, but there was a few of respect and lust. His to them were of indifference. I continued my scan. The guard was right the shorter male and blond female were mates, true soul mate. I made a note to make sure one didn't get away during the coming battle while one died. A deceased mate was more than enough reason to have a nonstop vendetta against the Volturi. I could tell that there were some vampires in the tents, probably the older ones. Since I couldn't see them I could not see their bonds. All the way to the right was another 20 or so vampires doing nothing in particular other than talking, practice fighting, and fornicating.

One of the larger tents came undone and the brunette from the drawing came out. As she came into sight I could see all the bonds associated with her. The one from her to the major was thick, woven with respect, friendship, lust, and love as well as a trickle of fearfulness in the relationship and deep admiration. From the shorter male to the brunette was a thin line of friendship, thankfulness, and fear. A thick line connected her to the blond female. It was of sisterly love and friendship. She was clearly the leader by the way all the vampires ducked their heads when she came near. It was strange though, all the bonds that were associated with her did not actually touch her like most bonds did. A foot away from her on all sides the lines stopped. Along with that I could not see her end of the relationship, how she felt about the others. I was deeply confused and somewhat angry. She must have some sort of gift.

With quick, lethal steps she walked to Major. He didn't turn around nor did he even acknowledge her approach. She snaked her arms around him from behind and suddenly I can't see the relationships he had towards others nor did any of the relationship lines touch him. She whispers something to him while standing on her toes so as to almost reach his ears. I can't hear what is said, but it makes him smile and she rubs herself against him in a deliberately seductive fashion and unexpectedly I'm filled with rage.

A growl slips out before I can stop it. It travels quickly down the hill we are on and to the valley. Her head is the first to snap our way and our eyes meet even though my group is hidden in the foliage. I both feel and see it. A bond has been formed and I am frozen in place because of it. The line was not of the usual thin often grey one that comes when first meeting someone, no this was a thick golden rope of a mate.

**AN: If you're interested there is sort of prequel to this fic that is 3 short chapters called Worth. You don't have to read it to understand this story, I just decided that since the settings were similar I'd make them the same universe.**

**This will be mostly from Jasper and Marcus' POV. I'll be updating every week or week and a half, most likely every Monday.**

**Is this worth continuing? Review.  
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	2. Stolen Control

**Chapter 2: Stolen Control  
**

MarcusPOV

Previously: _A growl slips out before I can stop it. It travels quickly down the hill we are on and to the valley. Her head is the first to snap our way and our eyes meet even though my group is hidden in the foliage. I both feel and see it. A bond has been formed and I am frozen in place because of it. The line was not of the usual thin often grey one that comes when first meeting someone, no this was a thick golden rope of a mate._

I feel Alec yank me up from our position on the ground but I pull from his grasp, my eyes still trained on the brunette, my mate. I see her, she sees me and now she is shouting.

"Charlotte! Intruders, 9 o'clock, assault group 2 through 5 attack." I'm confused and I can hear Alec trying tell me something in a frantic voice, but I can't comprehend. He's tugging on my arm and the blond female is running towards us with quite a few of the newborns who had been previously sitting. A guard picks me up and I'm still too stunned to do anything. My mate is still shouting orders and I don't know what to do, so I do nothing.

"Someone must have used a gift on him." Alec says. "You all run back to camp. Take evasive maneuvers so that they can't track you. I'll stun them then join. Keep him safe or we'll all be dead by sunrise."

The sight of my mate is getting smaller and I don't understand at first until I realize one of the guards is carrying me away. I let out a growl and quickly decapitate him before running back to my previous spot, still growling. I can see Alec's gift slowly making its way to the nearing group. He looks worriedly at me.

"Please Master, you need to leave now. They outnumber us greatly. Aro gave me specific orders to make sure you get back safe." I growl at Alec's words. Then I can't see him nor use any of my senses, and I know he has used his power against me. I know I growl and try to fight against him, but I can't feel him nor hear. All that there is, is darkness and the memory of the woman I just saw.

* * *

BPOV

"Charlotte! Intruders, 9 o'clock, assault group 2 through 5 attack." I shout. What a stupid scout party. "Peter, go with them. Jasper, maintain the calm here. Group 1 with me." I'm still staring at the intruders. I'm surprised they haven't run yet. The tallest of the group is picked up for some reason and I see only the shortest staying. He must be gifted to have the nerve to fight or at least stall my army. I start leading my group of three fighters to flank the running intruders from the right, but suddenly the one being carried beheads the one of his comrades and goes back to the lone fighter.

I notice at the same time as Charlotte that there is a shimmering fog close to the ground emitting from the boy. It was slithering towards Charlotte's group. She halts her soldiers. It engulfs the tall vampire that came back after the two exchange words he completely halts his movements.

"Peter, group 2 with you, flank right, avoid at all costs fog on ground, try to cut off any retreat." I say and they immediately follow my directions. I can see the panic in the groups' faces. The fog starts receding to the boy and the man, who was completely engulfed.

"Hold them off." He hisses at them then starts running with the man thrashing in his short arms. I'm surprised to see the three remaining vampires to follow his orders that are obvious fatal.

"Group 1 with Peter, Peter follow the retreating. Charlotte, attack, no fire." My orders were clipped, but easily understood.

I watch as the carnage ensues and Peter's team moves out of my sight. Charlotte comes up to me as the vampire parts are being taken to camp to either be burned or put back together for questioning.

"Should I get a group and follow Peter?" Charlotte asks. She tries to sound like the soldier she once was, but I can hear her worry for her mate. Had I not though her a capable piece in my army I would have killed her and her mate just so I wouldn't have to deal with such things.

"No, Peter knows what he is to do." She doesn't show her disappointment at my words, which I am thankful for. "Do a parameter check then choose two groups to make a foraging party and take them to the nearest town. Five humans should be sufficient." She nods without a word and follows her orders. I walked back to Jasper who had been watching everything. He's smiling and I don't know why, but this is a common occurrence so I don't question it. "Keep on alert and resume training." There were already three vampires guarding the intruder's parts and I nod at them in approval before going back to my tent.

I take note of the occurrence and try to analyze every part of it. The one who was the tallest and had let out the growl was well dressed and obviously very important. I don't understand why he froze up like he did. I made a quick sketch of the two vampires that got away from my immediate territory. I couldn't decide how to describe the fog that came from the younger of the two in the war journal.

An hour later I hear Charlotte and her command coming back. Everyone immediately gets antsy but Jasper and I due to the fresh blood. I leave my tent.

"Reassemble one of the intruders sans limbs." Soon a torso and head are in place. He latches onto the offered human, I only let him have enough to heal and be coherent.

"Is Peter still not back?" Charlotte asks as she removes the human from him.

"No, you're on watch. Do not leave camp. That man has a way of not dying. I'm sure he'll be back soon enough." Not a second after the words leave my mouth I hear the soft incoming steps of Peter and his command. I'm always the first to hear. When we meet eyes he shakes his head no. They got away. I give him a curt nod and turn back to the limbless vampire.

Jasper comes to my side and grabs my hand without beckoning and Peter takes his place guarding and training the newborns.

"Which coven sent you?" I ask in a dull voice. The limbless vampire doesn't respond. I squeeze Jasper's hand and I see the limbless vampire relax. "I'll ask again, which coven sent you?" For a second he looks confused but I can tell Jasper is feeding him trust and all sorts of emotions that makes him want to give all his knowledge away.

"That's-we're-we are not supposed to say." His conflicting emotions are making it hard for him to speak. Jasper squeezes my hand once, which means the man isn't lying.

"We're all friends here. Here finish off this human I'm sure you're beyond hungry." I smile and Jasper sends the vampire hunger and need. As the vampire sucks away Jasper sends deep satisfaction as well as thankfulness. He finishes the human quickly.

"Please tell me which coven sent you." I put on my sweetest face, going with the honey route rather than vinegar, thinking about flies and the like. "All I want to know is who tried to hurt my family so we can avoid their territory as we flee. I swear we'll let you live if you just tell us." Jasper pumps even more trust into him. "Can't you see that all I want to do is keep safe my loved ones?" His eyes are slightly drooping and I wonder if Jasper is sending him lust.

"I'm part of the Volturi." He says breathlessly and I suppress a hiss. Jasper squeezes my hand once.

"Oh I never heard of them. Where are they so we can avoid them as we retreat?" I feign ignorance and widen my eyes.

"We're-" the vampire starts saying then shakes his head in what looks like confusion. I squeeze Jasper's hand, but I can tell he is already ratcheting up the trustful emotions.

"Please." I say in a desperate voice. "I don't want my loved ones hurt. Where are you all?"

"After we killed off Francisco's army we took over his base. We are there. I'm so sorry. I don't know the town or even what state we're in." He sobs. One squeeze, the truth. I kneeled in front of the prone vampire.

"Shh, shh it's okay." He continues to sob and I am thoroughly impressed by whatever cocktail of emotions Jasper is feeding him. I lightly brush his hair and his sobs stop. There is complete adoration in his eyes. "How many of you are there?" His eyes narrow briefly but he still answers.

"Just under 40, normally there would be less, but the kings are with us." I nod and continue stroking his hair.

"It must be so nice being around such talented vampires. What gifts do they have? I'd just be so grateful to you if you told us." I breathe out onto him and he takes in my scent deeply, eyes glazing over further.

"Aro, he can read all the thoughts in someone's mind just by touching them. Jane, she's a demon and Aro's favorite guard. You'd hate her." He laughs and I laugh with him. "She can make anyone feel like they are in complete pain. Her brother Alec-Alec where is he? Wasn't he just here?" The glaze starts receding from his eyes and I stand up.

"Burn them."

**I feel like the start is a bit slow of this story. Oh well. I'm looking forward to writing Marcus' reaction to Alec using his gift on him, why Bella didn't immediately bond to Marcus, and what the Volturi will do about the whole situation. I love suggestions almost as much as I love reviews! Just sayin'. **


	3. Fluster

**Chapter 3: Fluster**

Marcus' POV

The first thing I did when Alec's gift finally receded from me was tear him apart. He didn't scream or fight so I assumed he used his gift on himself. This only made me angrier. I wanted to burn him, but I knew that wouldn't be productive so I just unleash an ear shattering growl. I pounced on the nearest guard and tore him apart too. My fingers dug into the pale flesh, clawing and ripping yet not relieving any of my frustration. Not a second later Aro and Caius were in front of me. It had been centuries since I had last been angry and the looks of astonishment on both the guards and my brothers' faces did nothing to alleviate my rage.

"Reassemble him!" I shout at one of the guards and point to Alec. I look around and see that Jane isn't amongst the crowd, probably out scouting. If she had seen what I did to her brother she wouldn't have been as self controlled as he was. His body is taking too long to reassemble and my agitation is boiling over. I'm tempted to go to my mate, but couldn't decide how to do so in a safe manner.

I'm pacing and I'm sure a line of venom is making its way from my mouth to chin. All I want to do is kill everything between me and what's mine. I can feel my brothers' eyes follow my every move, but I can't bring my anger down to properly talk to them.

My mate, my equal in every way, the one who will balance my every flaw. She was so close, yet that damned Alec- I let out a huff. He did the proper thing, get his master out of danger, but I was angry anyways.

"All scout groups are to be recalled and have them as lookouts." I say through clenched teeth. My brothers do not object. Alec is finally back together. "You are not to speak a word of what happened, not even to your demon other half." He nods with his eyes still downcast. I'm still growling. I turn towards the cabin and I feel my brothers following as we take our seats. I hold my hand out and Aro's meets it. Caius waits impatiently as Aro considers the problem. I didn't want any prying ears knowing what can be considered a weakness, what is a weakness. If captured she could be used against me and the Volturi.

"A complicated predicament indeed." Aro said then wrote for Caius to read. _Marcus saw his mate. She is the leader of one of the group he was scouting. The mating pull didn't work on her, possibly due to a gift. _

"The solution is simple." Caius said. "We kill off the majority of their forces, accept for these four." He hold up the sketch from earlier then wrote on it: _As well as anyone else her bonds showed that she cared about. After she is captured we just confine the two of you until she feels the bond. _

"That is one solution." I growled out. "A dangerous one though. Any amount of things could go wrong." The implication of my words was obvious. I won't let her die under any circumstances.

"There are always risks." Aro added on. "They could already be on the move. Were you and Alec the only ones to survive?" I growl at his name.

"I don't know. He had to use his gift on me to make me leave." Caius growled and Aro let out a sigh. To use a gift on a member of the royal family was punishable by death. "As much as I want to see him burn right now, there is a good chance that if he hadn't done what he did I'd be dead." We three nod together, the matter dismissed.

"We should attack immediately." Caius says, looking at the map and finding the best route. "All manners of things can happen between now and when we come to some other solution. Moving now would be best." We three nod together. Aro is the first to move, grabbing the drawing out of my hands and heading outside. Our troops heard everything, but Aro always feels the need to pretend otherwise.

"We are moving out in 1 minute. These four vampires are to capture and not harmed." Aro held up the pictures and everyone nodded. "Alec, you are in charge of numbing this one, the Major. He has a gift that will be useful. All the other vampires are to be killed. Delilah, you are to stay behind and ensure the wellbeing of our materials as well as inform any of our troops that get back from scouting to join us immediately." Aro rolled up the parchment and handed it to me. I wanted to stare at her image, but knew it would just cause suspension and curiosity amongst our forces. We three nodded and moment later we were all running.

My body goes to automatic, leaving my mind to wonder in every direction. The Major-No, Jasper. That is what she called him. They were obviously something between them. I growled louder and some of the guards shuttered, having never heard it before today. She had complete control over them. My lips twisted into a sick grin as I thought of the power she had over the many vampires she had in her army, maneuvering them effortlessly. She was meant to be a queen.

My mate. I sneered. I still didn't know her name. By the Gods she was beautiful. I hadn't allowed myself to acknowledge it before. It wasn't important to see the beauty in creatures that were meant to be beautiful. That would be like checking to see if a human had skin when they all do. My mind had been clinical, only seeing the situation, not her actual beauty.

I still didn't understand exactly what happened earlier. When our eyes met she should have felt it too, but that _barrier_ around her must have prevented it.

My mind was swimming with the few images of her I had, but they were sufficient for my imagination to do the rest. But it wasn't enough. I growled in frustration. The mating connection goes both ways according to everything I saw and read. And so my thoughts went in complete circles until we were almost there.

The wind blew towards us and I could pick up the faint scent of vampire ashes. My anxiety flew skyward. It was irrational. She is there leader. It is very unlikely that there was a sudden revolution against her in which they took her death life. From what I saw there was no disobeying her. I had to keep confidence in my _mate_. The word sounded so perfect, like it never did before… perhaps that is because there was no perfect before her. I banished the thoughts. Being sentimental and soft hearted were characteristics of a bad leader.

Something was wrong though. I could feel it in the air.

She should have felt the pull, but she _didn't_. Not outwardly at least, nor did her actions show any inclination to treat me or see me as anything different than the other vampires in my scout party.

All too slowly we arrived and there was _nothing_. Absolutely nothing. The camp had been abandoned. The only thing that made it look like there had every been anyone there was the small pile of ashes and the upturned ground from vampires fighting as well as 5 corpses drained. I held in a shout of anger and fear.

"Spread out and see if you can find any definite scent trails." Aro ordered before I even got the chance.

My mate was out of my grasp again. Or had she ever been in my grasp? No, the Gods must have been playing with me. Show me all I've ever wanted then not letting me have it.

I took in a deep breath of the air. I didn't even know which one of the many scents was hers. There were so many mingled together…

"Aro," Jane said in a low voice, "the scent trails, they go in almost every direction."

**Bit of a short chapter. Marcus can't get a break, nor do I plan to let him have one soon. Next chapter starts off in Bella's POV. Tell me what ya think!**


	4. Run

**Chapter 4: Run**

BPOV

"Burn them." I decapitated the vampire before he had a chance to scream. "Peter, your report?" Said vampire zoomed over and Jasper took his place. Peter looked anxious.

"The short one was fast even with the large one flailing in his arms. The fog followed the two, completely engulfing them. When one of my men jumped to tackle the two he completely stopped moving after the initial impact. Once he got out of the fog he reported that for a moment he could use none of his sense. The fog started falling behind him putting more and more distance between us until the fog disappeared and he was gone. About around that time I got the feeling that we should turn back. We need to get out of here." He said in a rush.

"I agree. Fucking Volturi." I spat into the flames. "They should all burn." Grabbing one of the 4 humans remaining I drained them then let Jasper, Charlotte, and Peter have the rest. I let out a short growl before getting down to business. "They have good trackers, but I don't think that they have identified our specific scents yet." I paused in my speech and went into my tent. I grabbed my go bad and shoved my war journals and maps into it. "Collapse all the tents." I ordered to no one in particular. "If you have any personal belongings you picked up along the way gather them. I raised my voice once the tents were packed and put on my best authoritative voice. "Henceforth you all are free. I recommend you all run before the Volturi get here in probably a few hours. I suggest you run in different directions in groups of no more than 5. If you raise too much of a commotion and reveal yourselves to humans the Volturi will kill you. It's their sole purpose other than to be asses." Not a minute later my troops were running in different directions. Ones that had been with me longer than the rest looked unsure. "Go," I say to, "them and be smart. Perhaps one day we will meet again." I smiled in a menacing way and they ran off, leaving behind only Jasper, Peter, Charlotte, and me.

"I'm not leaving your side." Jasper said in his southern drawl.

"And I'm not leaving my brother." Peter said holding onto his mate's hand.

"I figured as much. We will discuss this when we are clear of this place." I said and they all nodded in agreement, as if I needed their agreement. I let the thought go. Jasper picked up my collapsed tent that was in a bag as well as his own knapsack. Not a second later we were running. "The newborns should be going straight for the cities, causing all sorts of havoc. That ought to get the Volturi off our tails at least momentarily." Peter laughed.

"Do you ever stop looking ahead?" He asked, still laughing.

"I would be dead by now if I didn't. Perhaps you should start planning ahead, it might allow you a few extra years." My words shut down his laughter.

"Bella?" Jasper asked once a few miles were past our feet and starting point. "Where are we going?"

"North." He nodded, knowing he wouldn't get anything else from me.

We ran for a day without stopping. It wasn't hard to do, just exceedingly boring for me. I could tell it wasn't for my three companions though. They had never been this far North probably. It started to rain and I smiled. The rain would make it harder for anyone to follow us. Not long after we stole a boat. It was small, but easy to paddle. Still we traveled. Once up river we smashed them boat then flung the pieces into the water. There was a small cottage overlooking the river. The occupants made for a nice dinner.

I breathed in deeply it had been quite a few years since I had been this North.

After a few more hours I got annoyed of feeling their eyes flicker to me every so often, wondering our destination.

"We're almost there." I hissed at them. Two hours later we arrived at one of my small houses. It was nestled deep in the woods and was thankfully still unoccupied. I easily pried off the boards I had put in place almost a hundred years ago. I dropped my bag down on a creaking chair. Jasper did the same. I stared at the ground, looking for the right spot. When I found it I pulled away the floorboards to reveal dirt. Using my hands I clawed away at the stiff earth. It gave way easily until my eyes while standing were level with the ground. My three remaining troops watched on as I pulled out a chest easily as big as me from the ground. I lifted it over my head and Jasper grabbed it without my prompting then pulled me out of the gaping hole. I growled at him. "Do not ever touch that without my permission."

I opened it and breathed in deeply. It smelled of paper, me, and my brother. I was not the last to open the chest. He had been here no more than a decade ago. There were only 6 books in it, as well as a necklace with a note. I grabbed my bag and pulled out my 3 war journals and wrote a quick note in the newest. I put them and the in the chest. From the chest I pulled out 6 books with his distinct handwriting on them and put them in my bag. I put the necklace on and note in the bag to be read later. He always wrote more than me. After closing and reburying the chest I sat on one of the chairs.

"I should kill you for seeing this, but I've grown rather fond of Jasper, who has grown fond of you Peter, who has mated to you Charlotte so I'll leave you all be. But what are we to do now? They will be searching for at least a year so I can't raise an army to play with. Any suggestions?"

* * *

JPOV

"Honestly I've never thought past the next territory we were set to take over. I thought the whole world was like the South when it comes to vampire battles, but I haven't smelt anyone but us." I said and Bella let out a sigh, her breast lifting then lowering in an exaggerated manner. My eyes went back to her newly acquire necklace and my curiosity spiked back up as well as my jealousy. The scent that came from the chest was vampire and male. Who he was to her was beyond me.

"My poor, poor shelter babies." She said in the tone she took on when annoyed and bored. "You all are so young. They are called the Southern Vampire Wars for a reason. Most vampires, excluding the Volturi and you Southerners, are always on the move, rarely staying anywhere long, never claiming territory." She touched the ruby pendent of the necklace, distracting me once again. "That's probably the reason the Volturi were there, not liking anyone building up any powerbases." She snorted. "You still haven't answered my question."

"I don't have any suggestions."

"How about you, Peter, any feelings?" She was still messing with that damned pendent and my curiosity was killing me.

"Not a feeling since you announced we were leaving. We can always travel, see what there is to see in this world." Peter was enthusiastic, an emotion I couldn't reflect at the moment.

"Mayhaps, the world can be interesting to the eyes that have not seen it before. I have accumulated a few friends that have not seen me in centuries." She looked off into the distance.

"What do you want to do, Bella?" Her large, red eyes met mine as I spoke.

"What I always want to do, Jasper, fight, feed, and fuck." I could feel my hunger for her grow, but repressed it for the time being. "There is not much to do in this world other than play with the pieces," she pointed at us three, "that we've acquired. You two," she pointed at Peter and Charlotte, "should cherish what you have. To find your mate under 100 years is beyond lucky. I have lived much longer than all of you put together and have yet to find my mate." I walked to her then knelt so that we were on the same level.

"You're my mate." I nuzzled into her neck as I said it. Her scent engulfed me. I felt her arms wrap around me and I started to purr, resting my head on her chest, trying not to think about the necklace.

"Of course you're my mate, but not my soul mate. As much as I hate it I've grown fond of you Jasper, more so than any man before you." My purring increased, but she didn't join in, only raking her fingers up and down my left arm. I was near bliss.

**I forgot today was Monday, lol. Review please! And check out my 17 other stories!**


	5. Open Waters

**Chapter 5: Open Waters**

Marcus' POV

This couldn't be happening. I was going crazy. She was here and now she's gone. But no, I had to stay composed, any show of weakness could be detrimental to the coven, so I pushed the craziness down.

"We caught another newborn, Masters. I think he is from the disbursed army." Alec was dragging forward a male with brown hair and scared eyes. Aro touch his skin quickly then sat back down in his seat. After we noticed that the scents were scattered in every direction we split the guards to track the groups and went back to our cabin. Aro grinned.

"Dispose of him. This one was smart enough to actually think about his masters' scents. Continue capturing as many members as you can. The more information the better. Pay special attention to scents of leather, cinnamon, lilac, cotton, and coconuts." Alec bowed then flitted out to spread the order. "We will find them brother. There is no need to worry." Aro's meaning was clear. He truly believed we would find her, my Bella.

With each newborn we captured we got another story about her. Bella, no last name yet, commander of the largest territory, second in command Charlotte, third, her lover Jasper and then fourth in command Peter. She was the sire of one of the previous heads of a southern coven before she killed Maria off so as not to attract our attention. She knew of us, indicating she's probably older. Her accent changed constantly, mirroring who she was talking to or what was the majority of dialects around her, giving me no clues to her origins.

In general, we knew next to nothing about her.

Another memory that Aro told me of her was of just before she announced for her army to disband. She was completely disgusted by the idea of the Volturi…

I still couldn't figure out why the mating bond hadn't locked her in place like it did me. I had never heard of, nor seen, a mating bond only tethering one vampire to the other while the other felt nothing towards their mate. Letting out a sigh I tried not to think about it, but of course my mind wouldn't let me.

* * *

Jasper's POV

"I think a trip to visit my brother is in order." Bella said with a far away voice.

"Brother?" Peter spoke before I could even process her words.

"Tis what I said." She chuckled lightly and my spirit soared. "He's not in the Americas right now though. We'll have to take a boat and pass right under the Volturi's noses, but it all should be great fun." We were just outside of a city and Bella stopped us. I could smell the sea. "I'm going to ask around about transportation. You all stay here. Your control isn't good enough." She didn't wait for our reply.

My thoughts wondered back to my first and hopefully only Volturi encounter. The feeling emitting from the scout group confused me, especially the feeling that came from the one who was carried off. There was mostly surprise and anger, but also want and love. It worried me. The inability on my part to feel Bella's emotions only made me worry more. Perhaps the two had a past? I knew nothing of the Volturi, but from her reaction they were not her favorite group. Normally any group we encountered we would just fight, but they must be different. She mentioned them to Maria once and from what I gathered they were a strong force not to be fought with.

Bella didn't seem to recognize him, but I have never been good at reading her…

I had never met a vampire with a brother before that was also one of our kind. Perhaps they are just siblings in the sense that Peter and I are? I became lost in my own thoughts as Peter and Charlotte talked to each other on unimportant matters. Not too long after Bella was back.

"I've chartered us a steamboat. Steam, can you believe it? Who thinks of these things? Apparently it makes the transatlantic trip much shorter." Bella laughed and it made me smile. "These humans are so fucking crazy, but I suppose if you're not immortal you would not want to waste time traveling."

"How did you charter a boat? We have no money." Charlotte asked.

"Some rich family was about to take a trip to visit England. I tied them up and they will be our mid-Atlantic snack. First we will quench our thirst in a neighboring town then we'll be off. This is your last chance, Peter, Charlotte, to go. You two are no longer my responsibility and I have no need for you where I'm going." I was surprised when Charlotte was the first to respond.

"Life with you is the only life I know. I want to be there for your next fight. I want to revel in your victories and help you in your strategizing. I wouldn't know what to do with myself without you giving me orders." Charlotte smiled nervously and Peter nodded in agreement.

"Very well than. I can't stop you from following me-well I could, but I won't." Bella held out her hand to me and I took it. It was an oddly sentimental action on her part that made me feel beyond happy. I didn't show my emotion though. If she knew the depth of what I felt for her I don't know how she would react.

Peter glanced at me, knowing what I was thinking. He grinned and I bared my teeth at him to make sure he didn't say anything.

* * *

The trip across the ocean was full of laughs after I got over the endlessness of the water. Bella dressed up in the woman's fancy clothes, parading around in them. The family's whimpers were dulled by the sound of the ocean and eventually I couldn't even hear them other than when they whispered to each other about plans of escape. The father acted as captain and was chained to the steering wheel. If he led us astray even a bit Bella threatened to kill his children.

He could tell we weren't natural. There was no need for us to hide it out here in the middle of the ocean. Bella and Charlotte took to sunbathing to pass the time. Peter and I liked to dive to the bottom of the ocean randomly, to see what we could find. Peter had found a pearl, there were a few sunken ships, and we found a chest. There wasn't much in it that hadn't been ravaged by the salt water other than a gold ring that Peter gave to Charlotte. She hadn't stopped smiling since.

Bella was flipping through the books she got from the chest back in the states again and my curiosity was peaked. From what I glanced of them from a distance when she turned the pages they were handwritten and in a language I didn't recognize. It looked similar to my own alphabet but I couldn't read it.

She glanced up, seeming to feel my eyes on her. With a smile she patted the area beside her. I accepted the invitation, lying down next to her. We were only slightly touching.

"What does it say?" I had to ask. I didn't expect her to answer me, but she did.

"It's from my brother. We exchange journals recounting what we have done in our everyday life. They are rather boring, just the same thing over and over again, but it makes me feel less alone to read them." Bella didn't lift her eyes from the book as she spoke.

"You're not alone. I'm here with you for as long as you'll have me." She looked up from the book and smiled at me.

"Of course I have you, but this is a whole different animal. My brother knows everything about me and I him." With fingers lighter than a feather she traced the contours of my arm.

"Then tell me. I want to know everything there is to know about you." I was holding back a purr.

"Mayhap, one day." She said nothing more on the subject, instead rolling on her stomach. She lifted the pendent of the necklace towards the sun. It casted an eerie red on her pale, shimmering skin.

"I've never seen you take a liking to material things before this necklace." I said after an hour of her staring at it.

"That's because I don't care about them. This necklace is a code for me to unravel. It tells me where my brother is. Every facet of the jewel, its color, its shape, the links, the material, the design, all of it are used to help me pinpoint his location as well as how long he will be staying there." I was surprised at her answer. I thought she had been staring since it was of sentimental value, not for such a complicated reason.

"And where is he?"

"Home."

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	6. A World Away

**Chapter 6: A World Away**

Marcus' POV

We had picked back up on her trail not long after catching the newborn that knew her scent. They had headed North. The scent trail could not have been older than a day, but it was fading fast, even with our best tracker leading the way. For a while we actually lost it completely, but after spreading out in a 5 mile radius we picked it back up. If not for having such good trackers we would have surely lost their trail.

I could tell that the guards were confused with our actions. Never before had we issued an order for a capture with explicit instructions not to hurt the target. From the look in Alec's eyes he had already figured it out. Jane was annoyed that he was ordered not to tell her.

The scent was getting thicker, fresher until finally we came upon a wood shack. Aro halts the troops and we listen. There is only silence. With hand motions Aro sends forward Alec and five other guards to investigate.

After a minute Alec says: "It's empty. They stayed here for an hour at most. Masters you might want to come in here." When we entered I felt goose bumps. Her scent was _everywhere_. "I think these floorboards have been upturned recently and there is the distinct smell of dirt in the air."

"Dig." I order and the guards did just that. Not long after they were pulling a chest from the ground. As they opened it there was a hissing from we three. The scent that came from the chest was Romanian, Stefan, our old enemy.

After the initial shock Aro grabbed one of the 3 books that were in the chest then quickly read part of it. His hiss turned into a growl.

"She's Stefan's sister!" He looked like he was about to shred the book so I grabbed it from his hands quickly. Aro glared at me. He didn't need to say anything for me to know what he was thinking. _You would fall in love with the enemy, wouldn't you?_ "How were we unaware that he had a sister? This could have been used to our advantage many a times."

"Which is probably why we didn't know." Caius said, being the first one to calm down. "This has become quite complicated, not to say that it wasn't beforehand." Aro was still growling, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. I felt crushed. This situation only seemed to keep getting more disparaging.

"There is a faint scent trail heading North-East." One of the guards announced.

* * *

The ocean, there was no way we could properly track them now. I wanted to fall to my knees. To kill the whole city, to scream until my throat was raw, but I did none of those things. Instead I looked to my brothers. I could tell they were both thinking. I had to push aside my emotions and focus.

The scent trail ends at a dock so it is likely they took a boat so as to take a longer trip. I had no idea what to do.

"There are two logic routes," Caius said in a somber tone, "either we finish what we started in the South so that we don't have to worry about it for a while or we can go home and regroup." I had the feeling that part of the reason he wanted to go home was to see his mate. Neither of those options were acceptable and a growl showed my frustration with the whole situation.

"Home, home would be best."

* * *

Jasper's POV

"We-we are almost to the dock." The human said, fear making him stutter. I looked to Bella and nodded. Before the human could react I snapped his neck and was feasting on his blood. The warm ambrosia snaked down my throat as I stared at Bella.

"Steer parallel to the land when you're done, Jasper. Leave the corpse here. Once we are where I want us to be we'll set fire to this thing." After an hour of the steamboat pumping away Bella called for me to stop. "This is close enough. We swim from here."

"What about your brother's books?" Charlotte asked.

"I've read them; they are forever committed to my memory. They are meant for my eyes only so they will burn with the boat and corpses." She set fire to the books then various parts of the boat. We all jumped off and not long after the whole boat was engulfed. "A fire is not as charming when there is no screaming or purple smoke coming from it." Bella chuckled before she started swimming for shore. Her movements were much more efficient than any of us Southerners so I tried to mimic her form and found that I moved faster when I copied her.

When we reached the shore her dress was sticking close to her curves making Bella look more divine than usual. She was staring up at the stars, seeing where we were and which way we were supposed to be going.

She started running and like the loyal dogs we were we followed behind. Not once did we stop for seven days.

It was snowing and I wasn't sure if I had ever seen snow before. I didn't know where we were nor did I know what language was being spoken. We halted suddenly in a thick forest, skidding in the snow. There was someone out here. I could feel their apprehension, but I couldn't pinpoint their location.

"Show yourself!" Bella shouted into the emptiness. All I could hear was the flakes of snow hitting the ground and Bella's words echoing. Nothing happened for a minute but then a large lump of snow fell out of a tree. My eyes flashed up the tree and on a branch a small female vampire materialized from nowhere.

"This is not your territory! Leave!" For such a small thing she had quite a pair of lungs on her.

"Nor is it yours." Bella's accent was suddenly the same as the woman's in the tree. "Take me to your masters or I'll leave you here limbless and find them myself." The woman contemplated Bella before hopping out of the tree and landing gracefully. She was still feeling cautious.

They started speaking to each other in a language I didn't recognize. They sounded like they were arguing as the small woman led. I made eye contact with Bella quickly, letting her know that I could feel emotions coming from ahead of us. Bella suddenly held up her clenched fist and we all stopped, knowing that it meant to halt. A second later three more vampires sprung out of the trees right in the spots we would have been if we hadn't stopped. Her shield pushed them back and Bella's fist unclenched signaling for us to attack. The small female disappeared once we were on the other three. Bella didn't run after the footprints in the snow and we easily took apart the three vampires.

"Tell Stefan that Bella is here!" Her voice drifted across the white forest.

"Should we burn them?" Peter asked, pulling out a lighter.

"No, leave them be. They'll be our allies soon." Bella's voice wasn't worried. She ran her fingers through her hair as I kicked the vampires into a pile so that they could regenerate faster. Bella started leading us in a slightly different direction than the footprints. I gave her a questioning look. "If we follow the invisible one she'll probably just lead us into another trap."

We ran on for another ten minutes before her fist flew up again and we came to a standstill. Bella tilted her head slightly.

"Follow my footsteps exactly." She led us through on a winding path at a slow pace, seemingly aimless. "We're clear of the traps I think. Tread softly though, just in case. My brother loves his traps." We ran on until the female vampire from before appeared before us further out. She bowed deeply, completely exposing herself to attack.

"I'm sorry Lady Bella for earlier. Please follow me; Lord Stefan and Lord Vladimir are eagerly awaiting you and your companions." She turned her back on us and started walking. Her emotions were sincere with a bit of apprehension still coloring her feelings. "My name is Sonya. I act as one of your brother's guards."

Bella did not reply to Sonya. Not long after following her a crumbling castle came into view. As soon as it was in sight a blur of a vampire came out of one of the windows. I took a guarded stance then relaxed when I felt his emotions to be excitement and happiness. Bella was tackled to the ground and I had to stop myself from defending her against the man that had latched on. They were rolling in the snow, hugging. He kept saying her name and words I didn't recognize. They were both grinning widely and peppering each other with soft kisses. It was the happiest I had ever seen her and I was instantly jealous of the man who I assumed was her brother.

They laid their talking while still embracing until another man came out. He called her name and she was instantly standing then hugging him. She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him over to us.

"Stefan, Vladimir this is my coven. They are from America and only speak English and Spanish so for their sakes lets speak English."

"Very well then." The blond one of the two said. "Welcome to our home. I am Vladimir." He nodded to us politely, but didn't move forward to meet us. As the other male stood up I noticed that they were both surprisingly short. Bella had a good six inches on both of them.

"Stefan is my brother and Vladimir is one of my oldest friends. This is Jasper, my current mate, Peter and his mate Charlotte. Jasper is an empath and Peter has a sort of instinct that's in overdrive. It has helped on the battlefield many a times. Charlotte is giftless, but she has been my second in command for over twenty years." Bella was so excited that she was practically bouncing up and down.

"So this is your new mate?" Stefan took a step towards me. I could see his scars clearly. They weren't as numerous as mine, but they looked deeper somehow. His skin looked papery. I wanted to take a step back but made myself stand still. This man emitted danger the same way Bella did. He started circling me. "Does he know that I killed your first mate and that you killed your second?" Stefan's emotions were curious and incredulous.

"He has proven his worth to me Stefan. You have nothing to worry about." He snorted at her words. I had never seen anyone treat her with anything less than complete respect or fear so his informal reaction startled me.

"I'll make my own decisions." He looked me up and down then sneered. Vladimir had a blank look on his face, but I could feel his happiness and there was an undertone of victoriousness. Stefan turned back toward his sister smiling. "How do you always show up exactly when I need you?" Bella gave him a questioning look. "We just struck an impressive blow against the Volturi and your help will be the difference between defeat and victory."

* * *

**This chapter was extra long. I hope you liked it and its twist. Please send me a review!**


	7. Here's The Plan

**Chapter 7: Here's The Plan**

Marcus' POV

I was engulfed in depression. It was worse than when Didyme died, 1000 times so. We were on a large boat heading back to Italy. The dreary sea was my only companion since I hissed at anyone who came near me. There was nothing to be done in these sort of situations and that made the matter all the more worse. I'm not used to being helpless. It was a feeling I hope to never have again.

We were going to land soon. I could smell the scent of land in the air. Luckily the night had a thin, waning moon so mortal eyes would not be able to easily spot us. We ported in silence and were quickly unpacked and on the move again.

As we approached Volterra on the second day of running I could tell something was wrong. We picked up our pace and there was a thin line of smoke rising from somewhere in the city. The scent of dead bodies was thick in the air, but we paid no mind to the corpses that littered the city, our thoughts focused on the castle. Just from the smell of the corpses I could tell they had been dead a little under a week. The whole city was silent save for the squawking of scavengers and buzzing of flies.

Aro was the first one to burst through the doors of the castle, taking deep breathes trying to find his mate. The guards spread out. There were piles of purple ash everywhere, but none of them smelled like Sulpicia and Athenodora. I found Aro in the throne room hunched over, a piece of paper in hand. Caius quickly grabbed it out of his hand.

_Dear Usurpers, _

_The time has come for us to take back what is ours. I hope you enjoyed ruling when you did. You should be glad to know that your two false queens are still alive, though dismembered. Whether they meet their ends in the fire or fall back into your arms is up to you all. We shall send a representative once you all come back from your vacation. _

_-Vladimir and Stefan_

* * *

BPOV

"What trouble have you gotten into now, Stefan, that you need me to get you out of? You know I don't like playing your game of world domination. I agree with the Volturi's opinion on keeping our existence secret." It was a fundamental point we always disagreed on.

"We are far from being in trouble. This time we have the upper hand!" Vladimir said, his enthusiasm obvious. I raised one of my eyebrows in suspicion and disbelief.

"Last time you thought that your coven was destroyed." I reminded them. They completely disregarded my comment. "Your numbers?"

"Just under 40 excluding us and yours." Stefan said proudly.

"You'll need to double that before making a proper assault against them. We just ran into some of them in the Americas not long ago. Don't worry I didn't lead them here." Vladimir nodded, thinking about my advice. "Your traps are still too obvious. Sonya is good, but we still detected her. Are you going to be offensive or defensive?"

"We are going to start changing humans tonight. Can you put a shield around the two faux-queens? I heard that the Volturi have good trackers and I don't want to take a chance."

"So you hide in the most obvious place?" I asked incredulously. Stefan laughed.

"It will be the last place they look. Those fools are too arrogant." Stefan said through his laughs.

"Perhaps you two are the arrogant ones, hiding in plain sight, kidnapping their mates while still having inadequate numbers. Had I not showed up it would have surely meant the end of you both." I scuffed up Stefan's hair and he swatted my hand away.

"There was no better opportunity. Most of the guards were abroad. It was too good of an opportunity to let pass by." Vladimir tried to explain to me.

"Regardless, show me to these women so I can cover them with my shield."

"Are you sure these three can be trusted?" Vladimir asked, not caring that Jasper, Charlotte, and Peter could hear him.

"Yes, I changed two of them myself and the other one has had plenty of opportunities to betray me." I didn't need to say anymore on the subject for them to accept my coven. Deep in the dungeons there were four pots with random parts of the two women filling them. I could smell their venom melting the clay of the pots away. I focused on them, creating an invisible bubble that would make it so that no one could get in or out as well as made it so that no gifts would work on them. I smiled to myself, pleased with my work. "Now what else do you need me to do?" Stefan hesitated so I trained my eyes on Vladimir. His eyes were trained on the wall. "Speak lest I lose my patience." Vladimir's eyes flicked back to mine, his red irises darkening.

In the early days, before I had Stefan changed it had just been Vladimir, me, and my maker. My maker had been cruel to me, but worse to Vladimir. Whenever we disobeyed he would give us one warning: 'The loss of my patience will be the loss of your life'.

Stefan didn't notice our slight exchange of glares, but I'm sure Jasper did.

"We need you to act as our envoy to the Volturi."Stefan said, drawing my attention from Vladimir. Jasper snaked his arm around my waist, probably in defense from whatever emotions Vladimir was emitting. "You have the perfect ability to make them listen to you while still being out of their reach."

"This is true." I stated indifferently. I was processing the idea. The variable that kept nudging me away from the prospect was the chance that they had a member that could negate my power. "That is a role I could fulfill, but why should I risk my immortality just for your little game. Can you not just send them some sort of letter?"

"We already left them a letter telling them we would send someone. The only way we can be sure they fulfill their end of the bargain is if we have eyes there." Vladimir added in. Jasper's grip tightened around me and I patted his arm subtly. "We just received word a bit before you got here saying that the Volturi where heading back to their castle."

"That does not answer the question of why I should put my life at jeopardy just for this." I motioned to the castle all around me. There was a long pause as they thought.

"There is no logical reason for you to go, only emotional." Stefan started saying. He was staring at me with a pleading look. "I'm your brother and I've had this dream, this memory and vision of how the word should be. How it should be ruled by us, never having to live in fear of other vampires or of the humans. It's my dream Bella, and you are key to fulfilling it." Jasper squeezed me once without my prompting; covertly telling me that Stefan's emotions matched his words.

I glanced to Peter to see if his intuition was telling him not to go.

"My gift is actually telling me that you should go." Peter's voice surprised and Jasper squeezed me once. Vladimir glared at Peter, probably thinking that he should have no say in the matter even though he was prompting me to go.

"This is quite the decision to make on a nearly empty stomach." I was stalling and everyone knew it. Stefan nodded to Sonya and she ran off to fetch me a human. It was only a few more minutes before she was back with a knocked out man almost twice my size. I quickly drained him. "Fine Stefan, Vladimir. I'll do it. What terms do you want of them for their mates back?" Vladimir smiled viciously and Stefan hugged me tightly.

"Their two witch twins Alec and Jane must be burned along with one third of their guard of their choosing." I nodded.

"I assume your ultimate goal is to kill all of the Volturi?" My voice and mood was grey.

"Of course."Vladimir started to lead us out of the lower half of the castle.

"If Bella is going I have to go as well." I wasn't surprised by Jasper's demand. Vladimir hissed at him, but Jasper didn't even flinch, completely resolved.

"This has nothing to do with you, child. You should just be glad that we allow you to live." Part of me forgot how much I enjoyed seeing Vladimir angry.

"Calm dear Vladimir." I said in my best condescending voice. "He will come with me. I can shield him as easily as I do myself. Also his gift will be an asset. He will be able to read the emotions of the room."

Stefan looked at Jasper incredulously, wondering if I was lying or not. I smiled at him, teeth bared. He was right not to trust me, just not on this issue.

"Have it your way, Bella. When do you want to set off?" I was looking around at the castle. They had refurnished it splendidly.

"Tomorrow, when the sun is at its highest point. Until then I think we should celebrate our reunion as well as make plans for the future."

**Hope you liked this chapter and that it surprised you. Please review. **


	8. The Start

**Chapter 8: The Start**

Jasper's POV

The room was surprisingly warm for the time of the year. The three lit fireplaces let off an ethereal glow and the whole room was emitting feel good emotions. There were countless animal pelts and overstuffed pillows strewn about the room we were occupying. There were no chairs. I couldn't identify the scent coming from the various burning incense in each corner of the room. The smoke hung in the air creating a hazy like dream world.

Bella was laughing at something Stefan said as she leaned against me. She was looking more beautiful than usual in the blood red gown they had in waiting just for when she returned. Charlotte and Peter were making love in one of the darker corners two drained corpses next to them. He was whispering something into her ear, making her smile. Vladimir was drinking from his third human in the past thirty minutes.

I had never been so full of blood in my afterlife ever before. It was making me feel high and slightly dazed. Bella's delicate fingers ran through one of the rich dark brown pelts, commenting on the soft texture. Vladimir said something back about werewolves and they both started laughing all over again. Her other hand was on my thigh before she moved it to grab her chalice of blood. She took a small sip before putting it back in place. Bella turned to me with one of her rare smiles in place. I couldn't get over how absolutely stunning she looked tonight. I had never seen her do more than put her hair in a bun or leave it completely down. Tonight it was half up, half down with random braids and ribbons scattered in her hair yet balanced. Her lips were tinged red from the blood she hadn't licked off yet. A black pearl necklace was tight against her neck and I wanted to rip it off and pepper her skin with kisses.

She seemed so relaxed.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Jasper?" She asked over the moans of Peter and Charlotte. I nodded with a smile and she beamed back at me. She turned around so that she was completely facing me before pushing me down onto my back. Without hesitation she straddled me and my hand automatically went to her hips. I glanced at Stefan and Vladimir; they were unfazed, talking about a past battle. "It's only fair that I get to enjoy you too, now isn't it?" I could only nod at her words. With unhurried movements she undid my shirt. She raked her hand down my chest leaving shallow gauges that quickly healed. My breathing quickened, just enjoying seeing her on top of me and grinding against my erection. I pulled her down by her pearl necklace and as our lips met the necklace broke, pearls flying everywhere. She tasted of blood and heaven.

With a ruff push I flipped Bella on to her back causing to laugh. I was on her in under a second nipping and licking, making her laughs to turn to moans. With one hand I undid my pants while the other was on her glorious breast.

When I entered her we both hissed in pleasure. These were the moments I lived for, the moments where we were one. Bella tried to flip us over so that she was on top, but I grabbed her by the throat, pushing her down. She smirked showing me her deadly, white teeth. I tried to catch her hands too, but she was too fast for that. I growled in both pleasure and annoyance, never stopping my thrusts. With a quick hit to the bend of my elbow of the arm that was holding her down and hard buck of her hips she broke my balance. Before I could react I was on my back with Bella back on top. Her back was arched magnificently, one of her hands was gripping her hair while the other was roamed her own body. She met my every thrust and I wanted nothing more than to mark her as my own. I pushed that thought aside, instead ripping the front off her dress and enjoyed her flawless body.

* * *

There was no heartwarming goodbye between Bella and Stefan. They merely nodded at each other and smiled. They had disappeared to another part of the castle with Vladimir a few hours back, probably discussing strategy. The sun was nearly at its highest point when Bella handed me a thick suitcase. She was wearing men's clothes and her hair was tightly plated to her head. I gave Peter and Charlotte a hug before we departed.

We did not speak as we ran. It took us a few days to reach the Adriatic Sea. Bella decided that we should take a boat, rather than just running around it. Instead of stealing a sea vessel Bella booked passage with money she took off our last kill. Our cabin was not lavish, but it served our purpose for the trip.

Bella was lying completely still on the small bed with her eyes closed. Had I not known better I would think she was dead, well dead by human standards.

"I want to know about your other two mates." I broke the silence. Bella rolled onto her side so that she was facing me.

"I want to be constantly entertained, but that clearly isn't happening." She turned onto her back again, covering her eyes with her arm.

"If you can't be entertained the least you can do is entertain me. You have nothing to lose in this situation." I tried to convince her, appealing to her ever present logical side.

"I lose some of my privacy." I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. I remained silent, trying to figure out a way to persuade her. "Fine." Bella sat up and stared at me with hard eyes. "I suppose I should give you some background so you can fully understand." She mumbled something to herself. "I was born in the early parts of the Iron Age, I never bothered to figure out the exact year. My father was a successful trader. I had two full brothers and then Stefan who is only my half brother. I was never close to my full brothers though.

"Stefan was born about 10 years after me to one of our slaves. Mother hated him and the slave woman. I had no friends my age and my brothers pretty much ignored me so I became friends with Stefan once he was older. I loved dressing him up." Bella paused smiling to herself. "He was my only friend even before he could speak. My mother always had his mother working so often times I looked after Stefan even though we had other servants. When I was about 16 I was sent across town to marry a merchant twice my age. My husband allowed me to visit my family so I got to see Stefan grow even older. I gave my husband 2 sons by the time I was 20 and had a third growing in me. I could tell that I would give birth in the next few days. That is when Alistair found me." Bella growled. She cracked her knuckles and neck before continuing. "I was too beautiful for my own good. I had plenty of servants and guards as I made my way back to my husband's house after visiting Stefan, it had been his birthday. Luckily my boys weren't with me and my husband didn't care enough to attend a bastard's birthday.

"I saw Alistair through the thinning crowd, noticing his beauty. The sun had just met the horizon casting plenty of shadows. His eyes followed me, but what I didn't see was Vladimir. Each time we turned a corner one of my servants or guards disappeared. We started running when we noticed, but my swollen belly slowed me. My slaves left me behind." Bella laughed darkly. "I hadn't disciplined them enough when I owned them, a mistake I never repeated once I became a vampire." She shook her head then continued her story. "A hard body crashed into me and covered my mouth before I could scream. Once we were in the woods Alistair opened up my womb with his bare hands and pulled out my third son. He gracelessly tossed my screaming child onto the ground before latching onto my neck, taking a few gulps, then pushing me full of venom." Bella didn't stutter or show any emotion throughout her story.

"I'm sorry for you loss." I couldn't think of anything else to say. She waved dismissively at me.

"What's done is done and I am long past having any feeling towards such foggy memories." Regardless of what she said I still intertwined my fingers with hers and sent her calming waves, she let her shield down to receive them. I was surprised that she was feeling completely numb. "Alistair was cruel and took me anytime he pleased. If my tongue slipped I was punched in the gut, if I glared at him I got a slap, if I was anything less than submissive he pulled a limb off. He never once bit me though, excluding when I was changed." I was growling deeply as she finished her sentence. She silenced me with a look. "Vladimir had it worse though, although he was never raped. He lost a limb almost every day. Alistair loved fighting so those two were always sparring. I believe that was the only reason Vladimir was permitted to live. I was for fucking and he was for fighting." She chuckled and her mirth made me smile. "Vladimir had been with Alistair for a little over 20 years by the time I was forced to join them. He was completely submissive if you can believe that. I think it wasn't till five years after my change that he ever raised his eyes enough to make eye contact with me and another four years before we even spoke.

"It was around then that I noticed that I had a gift. It was hard to control, but I kept it a secret. Vladimir saw me use it once, but never said anything to Alistair. About ten years after my change we were close to my town. I begged Alistair to let me check on my family. I got quite a beating from that one, but he allowed it. My oldest son had died of some disease, but my second was healthy. My husband had unsurprisingly taken another wife. My mother had died in childbirth and Stefan's mother had been raped and killed by a group of travelers. When Stefan was considered a man he had been thrown out of the house to make a living on his own. He had nothing but the clothes on his back and I could tell he was unhappy. I missed him so much. He was the only friend I ever had throughout my whole life. I begged Alistair to change him, I made promises, I made sexual propositions to him, anything and everything to convince him. The thing that persuaded him though was when I said that he could always use Stefan as a threat to keep me complacent. That day he abducted Stefan and changed him.

"Throughout the three days it took him to change Vladimir and I exchanged looks and I conveyed to him that we were going to attack Alistair once Stefan awoke and saw that I was still alive. It took me all three days to persuade him go with my plan. He was so beaten down…" Bella paused. "After Stefan was coherent and realized what had happened to him and who I was he was beyond happy. Not a minute later I used my gift to hold down Alistair and ordered Stefan to attack him. Vladimir showed him how to remove the limbs. I kept Alistair completely trapped until he was dismembered. It was one of the happiest days of my existence." I could feel her joy. Her bright red eyes met mine and her emotions changed to malice and her smile turned vicious. "We spent the next two years torturing him."

**This is my favorite chapter so far.  
**


	9. Fingers

**Chapter 9: Fingers **

Jasper's POV

I wasn't surprised by Bella's admission of torturing her first mate. I have seen what she did to those who slighted her, so I can only imagine what she would do to someone who went out of their way to kill her child and abuse her. Without pause she continued with her story.

"I had split from Vladimir and Stefan about 100 years after Stefan was changed. I preferred traveling alone while they wanted to settle somewhere. My second mate was Martinus, though I called him Martin to annoy him. I believe we met sometime around 12 CE in what is currently called Ireland. He was so smart. I think that is the reason we mated with each other. He was only about 200 years old and a horrible fighter with no gift, I have no idea how he stayed alive for so long. He was always telling me riddles. Martin could actually make me laugh." Bella smiled and I sensed her feelings of a mixture of melancholy and remorse and a tinge of love. "We traveled all the way to Japan and back twice. We were mated for just shy of 200 years then he met his soul mate." Bella growled. "I wouldn't allow him to leave me so I killed both of them." She snapped her teeth together and I nuzzled her neck, trying to calm her down without using my gift.

"You don't ever have to worry about me leaving. You're all I'll ever want." I said in a soft voice and purred when she ran her fingers through my hair. "You have permission to kill me if I ever try to leave." Bella chuckled.

"As if I'd need your permission…"

* * *

After taking a long, twisted route through rivers to make it harder for the Volturi to follow our trail back to the Romanian castle we were only a few miles outside of Volterra. I handed Bella the suitcase and she changed into a tight fitting sapphire blue dress and wore a silver necklace with sparkling diamonds. She handed me a suit and I wondered when she had picked it up. Bella let her hair out of its braids, leaving it curled. After changing she pulled out a small wooden box and ordered me to burn the suitcase and discarded clothes. Ten minutes after the first waft of smoke reached above the trees seven guards surrounded us. I didn't recognize any of them.

"We're here on behalf of the Romanian coven. Lead us to your masters." Bella's voice was fearless and her emotions reflected that. She was feeling slightly bored, yet still on alert. I remained impassive, staring down any of the guards that made eye contact with me. None of them said anything, only motioning for us to follow.

* * *

Marcus' POV

Everyone was on edge, most of all Aro and Caius. I had ordered that constant patrols should be done in our immediate territory. I sent out our best trackers, but they kept coming back, not finding any scent trails. One of the guards had lost her mate when the Romanians raided or castle and was so crazed we had to kill her. I could see the look of uncertainty on many of the guards' faces, so I tried to step up as the figurehead of the Volturi since neither Aro nor Caius were calm enough to do so. I was trying to instill back our image of invincibility. Any sign of weakness from us or doubt on the guards' part could lead to rebellion, something we couldn't handle right now.

I tried to push aside all thoughts of Bella, but she always seemed to worm her way back in and the pain in my chest wasn't helping the matter either. I needed to stay focused. She was most likely safe while Sulpicia and Athenodora were in pieces being held by those who had a vendetta against us. Bella could wait, Sulpicia and Athenodora couldn't. My brothers needed me, my coven needed me.

A slightly flustered guard member scurried in to the throne room.

"The representatives are here master." I nodded.

"Inform Aro and Caius." The guard bowed and left. Those two were in their respective rooms, staying away from the eyes of the guards, least they see their anguish and interpret it as weakness.

Aro was the first one to arrive, Renata right behind him acting as his main guard. Caius followed shortly after, Alec following at a respectable distance. He nodded at Jane who was acting as my guard since we had been on high alert after we arrived back in Volterra. Caius was doing a good job at covering his emotions, the only thing giving him away was the slight downward turn of his lips. Aro was not doing as well his hair was mussed up, shirt torn, his forehead furrowed, and he kept wringing his hands. They took their seats on the dais. I took in deep breathes, trying to see the whole situation from every angle.

The representatives could be a distraction for the real attack, they could be the attackers, possibly highly gifted, or they could be just representatives. I tried to figure out more angles, but I can hear the group nearing and I'm running out of realistic possibilities, making me feel rushed.

I had already set the plan in place for when the representatives arrived. Get them into the throne room, hear their undoubtedly unreasonable demands, Alec gases them, then either bind them to us or torture them until they gave us what we needed. It was simple, but sometimes it was the simplest plans that worked best.

I could hear Aro's fingers digging into his throne as the representatives neared. They turned the corner, entering the room and my dead heart leapt and shattered all at the same time. No, no, no, no! The word repeated in my head and I felt my emotions go haywire yet I still kept my bored façade in place. This couldn't be happening! Were the Gods really so set on keeping me from my happiness? What sick deity was twisting my fate so? This just couldn't be happening!

My mate, my everything who seemed to see me as nothing. After our brief encounter this pained me, but it still left open the option of meeting her and using my charm to make her reciprocate my feelings, but now… She was on our sworn enemies side! To add insult to injury she came into my home holding the hand of another man! My mind was in tatters! My mate was here, but only to negotiate the return of my brothers' mates. Was it possible for the world to be any more twisted?

I tried clearing my mind by taking a deep breath. I couldn't look at my brothers, I didn't want to see their reactions to the situation. I looked at Bella again, she looked stunning. I couldn't help but notice that. She was the epitome of divine beauty. The only thing that distinguished her from some earth bound angel other than her lack of wings was her piercing red eyes. She had a slight smile on her face and the sway of her steps reeked of superiority. Aro was growling while Caius remained silent.

I didn't know what to say to our two guests. The room filled with a blaring silence for a minute that seemed to drag until one of Bella's eyebrows arched in question.

"I was expecting a warmer reception, at the very least my hosts to be properly dressed." My mate's voice was taunting. I had to grab Aro's arm to stop him from pouncing on her. He was hissing, growling, and clawing at my restraining hand, trying to get at Bella.

"Where is she?" Aro shouted. "Where did you all take her, I will have you tortured till the day the sun explodes! On that day I will follow you all to Hell and torture you there too!" He was frothing at the mouth. With all my strength I threw him backwards, smashing his throne and causing him to go through a wall.

"Juan, Afton, take Aro back to his chambers and keep him there till I say otherwise." The two guards looked at each other uncertain but then did as I ordered. Aro was screaming out threats and obscenities as he was dragged away.

"One down, two to go." She laughed at her own comment and the Major gave a strained smile. I realized that Bella was trying to rile us up. I glanced at Caius, surprised that he hadn't tried to attack them yet. His nose was flared but he was completely still. Bella was staring him right in the eyes. "Ah! I almost forgot!" She waved a small wood box in the air. "I believe one of these belongs to you." Offhandedly she tossed it towards our dais. One of the guards shot forward, grabbing it out of the air before it could even get close to us. The guard looked to me, waiting for orders. I nodded and he opened the container. There were two fingers. From the scent I could tell that one belonged to Sulpicia and the other was Athenodora's.

In my peripheral vision I saw Caius' eyes widen and that was the moment that I knew any semblance of calm Caius had been portraying broke.

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**Wha'cha think? **

**Side-note: So I'm thinking of starting another fic to be released on every Thursday. A Bella/Carlisle fic. It would, on the surface, be about a divorced vampire Carlisle being neighbors with a very sexy human Bella who doesn't know how to close her window shades. No twilight. It's a romance/mystery tale. Name: Just a Cup of Sugar. Rating M.  
**

**PM if you think I should. If I do it will come out this Thursday.  
**


	10. Another Two Fingers

**Chapter 10: Another Two Fingers**

Jasper's POV

The blond one Bella had identified earlier as Caius leapt from his seat at us only to crash into Bella's shield. I could feel his confusion under the many layers of rage and desperation. He tried clawing at the invisible wall and only ended up hurting his fingers. Bella was laughing loudly, contrary to her actual bored emotions. Caius circled around us trying to find a weak spot or opening. The last king still sitting, Marcus, had Caius dragged out the same way he did Aro.

I was surprised when we first walked in. Marcus' swirling emotions had been confusing me since we entered the opulently decorated room he was sitting in. I did not like in the least. Possessive emotions fluctuated upwards every time his eyes landed on her. He covets her almost as much as I do. I snaked my arm around Bella's shoulders trying to show my claim on her. His fury spiked up and I smiled. Marcus called for one of his guards. He whispered something in the guard's ear that was so quiet I couldn't hear what he said.

"Bella, and I believe your name is Jasper," his eyes never left Bella's and I was surprised he knew our names, "welcome to my home. I was unaware that you two were in the Romanian coven. Your plan of dividing my forces by having some of us go to take care of the Southern scuffles while others stayed here was rather smart."

"Neither of us are part of the Romanian coven," Bella said nonchalantly, "and you being in the Americas was just a happy coincidence, not a plan of mine." Marcus was feeling doubtful.

"How strange of you to say that, Bella, considering I know for a fact that you are the sister of Stefan, one of the last living members of the Romanian coven." The guard he had whispered to earlier was back and carrying Bella's journals that she had buried when we were still in the United States. Bella's anger pulsated, but she didn't show how mad she was as Marcus flipped through one of them.

"How uncouth, reading someone's diary without asking permission. You Volturi never cease to disgust me." She didn't bother to hide the venom in her voice.

"From what I've read you are the bad-mannered one. I shouldn't even have to mention how uncivilized, or 'uncouth' as you put it, throwing the detached pieces of my brothers' mates at us is. I believe that is some sort of breach of etiquette." Marcus' laugh was hollow.

"Mayhaps that wasn't the most traditional thank you gift for allowing us visitors into your home, but this is how the business of war works, we both know that. Anyways, I'm sure your brothers will appreciate having some part of their mates back." Bella shrugged. "Those wiggling fingers also prove that those two faux-queens have still not met their final end in the flames." Marcus nodded. "I didn't come here though to exchange un-pleasantries. Would you like to plead or say anything before I list the requirements that must be met for the return of your two coven members?" Bella had an air of civility around her that felt out of place, in my opinion, for the situation.

"Of course, I think it is only fair that I should warn you before you make your already bad situation worse." Marcus sat up straighter and I could tell that he was slipping into his role as one of the leaders of the Volturi. "The Volturi shall prevail in this matter and you will burn," his voice sounded certain, but his emotions said otherwise so I squeezed Bella twice. "If you tell me now where Sulpicia and Athenodora are I'll make sure that both of you will die quickly. If you make the folly of doing anything less than that Aro's threats will come to fruition." I squeezed Bella twice again telling her Marcus was lying. "The only choice left you have in your quickly coming to an end lives is the amount of pain you have to endure before you burn."

I didn't understand his motives or where his emotions towards Bella were coming from, but a disturbing idea was starting to form. Peter had started feeling intense emotions similar to Marcus' when he first met Charlotte…

"I'll take that into consideration." Bella said sarcastically and I smiled, feeding off her emotions. "The first demand of Vladimir and Stefan is for Alec and Jane to be burned. After that a third of your guard must be killed. You must also abdicate and swear to never claim to be the rulers of anything other than yourselves." I remembered the first two terms being said by Vladimir, but he hadn't mentioned the third term in front of me. There was the chance that they had added it in when they had their meeting, but I had a feeling the third part was purely Bella's devising.

"I'll need to discuss these demands with my brothers, before I can have a definite answer." He was stalling and I could already feel his resolved, negative disposition to the demands.

"Naturally," Bella gave him a sincere smile as he stood, "just remember that it doesn't take long for a dismembered, starving vampire to go insane." Her voice was honey sweet, in stark contrast with her words. Marcus shivered slightly and I was disgusted by his emotions of lust. He nodded at her.

"Mario will lead you to two adjacent guest rooms-"

"One room would be preferred." I cut in. He glared at me.

"As I was saying Mario will lead you to two adjacent guest rooms and rest assure knowing that we will have guards posted so that no disgruntled members of my coven attack you." I had to laugh at his words. He twisted the phrasing to make it sound like the guards were for our protection when they actually were both a threat and a means to make sure we didn't do anything that could be damaging. His glare intensified and he walked out a door with three guards following on his heels.

Eleven guards surrounded us as the one I assumed to be Mario guided us through the many halls. He showed us two twin rooms, but we both went into the one on the right. The furniture was severely outdated, but kept clean. As soon as the thick wooden door closed I pushed Bella down onto the plump bed. I was used to life and death situations based on fights, but not ones based on words. When I was in a fight I felt nothing, but this whole mission had me feeling like adrenalin was once again being pumped into my veins. I felt alive and ready to make every second count, preferably with Bella moaning beneath me.

"I love you so much I want to kill everyone else just so that we can never be interrupted ever again." I whispered as I nipped at her neck and let my hands memorize every inch of her body. "I want to give you more pleasure than you've ever had before. I want to make you scream my name in ecstasy." My voice was hoarse with desire and she was smiling, for once not fighting for dominance. Without thinking I ripped Bella's dress right down the middle. I stared at her for a moment, just savoring the image.

"Stop staring and start making me scream your name." Her smile turned devilish and she dug her nails into my back, trying to get me closer without using her strength. I was more than happy to oblige.

I slowly moved my way down her body with a trail of kisses. My satisfaction could wait, hers was all that mattered. I hiked up her hips up and placed a pillow beneath her perfectly rounded bottom.

With the ease of someone who has eternity I slid two fingers into her. Bella shuddered slightly as I hit the spot that always made her squirm. I quickened my pace as I started licking and sucking on her clit lightly. As she started making the most delicious sounding moans of pleasure I quickened my pace. Bella's fingers were tearing holes into the bed sheets.

"J-Jasper! Don't stop-just! Ah!" I felt her clinch around my fingers as her back arched and she came. She gasped a few times, coming off her high. I stared at her, filled with pride at causing her pleasure. Bella glanced at me with one eyebrow raised. "Well, no one told you to stop."

* * *

**Raunchy stuff right under the Volturi noses. Saucy Bella. **

**I'll tell you guys what. If I get a decent amount of reviews for this chapter I'll add a new short scene to this story on Thursday. Deal?**


	11. Deliberation

**Chapter 11: Deliberation  
**

Marcus' POV

Our kingdom had taken millenniums to make and in a little under a month it was in complete shambles. I could almost feel the rage as I neared Aro's chambers.

"Aro, meet in the conference room. She has given terms and we must figure out what we need to do to prevail." A second later his footsteps fell in behind me. I gave the same speech as I passed Caius' room. I didn't want to look back and see the emotions on their faces.

As we sat in the conference room I finally looked at them. Aro looked surprisingly calm, almost apathetic. Caius looked like the devil incarnate. His eyes seemed to be blazing and his teeth were bared. Caius' hands were steepled and his posture completely ridged.

"We must first discuss that woman's sudden appearance." Caius said through clenched teeth. "She may be your mate, but if she keeps threatening Athenodora I might not be able to restrain myself from ripping her to shreds and burning her." I growled at his threat. "She's one of the enemies, Marcus, what do you expect to happen?" His voice was starting to rise as he stood up in anger. "I don't think she is your mate! She obviously regards you as nothing more than an enemy." I wanted to leap across the table at pin Caius to the wall, but controlled myself.

"I both felt and saw our bond. She is my mate!" There was no doubt in my voice even though on the inside I was divided. My emotions told me she was my mate, but my mind was debating that fact.

"So you have said a thousand times over, but you admitted earlier that you couldn't see any of her bonds towards others only the relationships to her. For all you know she is some sort of emotionless creature incapable of forming bonds." I tried to ignore his allegation even though they filled me with dread.

"As you were attacking her I was looking at the bonds. Where the invisible wall was keeping you at bay was the exact point where the relationships others have to her stopped. Also, when I first saw Jasper he had many bonds, but when he was in Bella's invisible wall I couldn't see them. It must be her gift. I think it stops physical attacks and my gift."

"So Alec's gift might not work on her?" Caius and I were both startled by Aro's sudden involvement in the conversation. He had been silent and unmoving throughout our whole argument. He sounded weak and sad. Caius sat back down, contemplating this prospect.

"I don't know, but it's possible." We three were silent in thought.

"If we can capture them we can't torture her, but we can torture her companion." Caius said offhandedly. I grinned.

"I'd be more than happy to torture that nuisance." I could still picture him fawning over what was mine. She _is _mine. Even if she doesn't know it yet. "But first I think we should try to get Chelsea to use her gift on them. Have her make Jasper and Bella loyal to us. If that doesn't work we could try Alec's and Jane's gifts together. Jane's first to distract them as Alec's gift sneaks up on them." Caius nodded at my plan and Aro just stared at the table.

"What should we do if their gifts don't work? Tell all the guards to attack? See how strong her wall is against all of us." Caius seemed reluctant, but I could tell just from looking at him that he didn't have a better plan.

"It may come to that, but let's hope it doesn't."

"That 'invisible wall' as you called it. It felt completely unmovable. I broke two of my fingers trying to get through it. It also felt slightly rounded. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a dome or sphere. We could try digging under it, but I doubt that would work unless we completely surprised her." Caius' words trailed off. "What were her terms?"

"Bella said that Vladimir and Stefan want us to burn Alec and Jane, then one third of our guard. After that is done we must 'abdicate and swear to never claim to be the rulers of anything'."

"Those are wholly unacceptable terms, but the alternative of me never seeing my Athenodora is even worse." We three didn't say anything for a few minutes. "We might just have to yield to their demands." Caius whispered.

"Even if we do comply, there is no guarantee that they will let us have our mates back. How would we even accomplish restraining Jane and Alec enough to tear them apart and kill them, let alone one third of our guard. They have set before us an impossible task." Aro wasn't looking at us as he spoke. His eyes were trained on the table. "I'm afraid that if our plan doesn't work we have truly lost everything."

"I am sorry this tragedy has befallen you, my brothers." They didn't respond. I summoned Chelsea, Jane, and Alec and told them of our plan. The rest of the guard didn't need to be informed since they would follow our directions right away when we issued them.

My mind wondered away from the issue of my brothers' captured wives to Bella's gift. Perhaps the bond didn't work both ways since she had her invisible wall up. If she just let it down for one second in front of me it might strike her as hard as it did me and resolve the whole situation.

It was a desperate thought, but I clung to it.

Bella had no reason to lower the only thing keeping her alive in this castle though. Especially not to me. She might let me in though; the way Jasper went right through her invisible wall when she went to hug him when I first saw her.

But what if, even with her invisible wall down or me inside it, she didn't feel the bond? I was full of doubt and indecision.

We started on our way to the throne room at a slow pace and I had one of the guards fetch Bella and her companion. We waited fifteen minutes in the throne room and they still hadn't come back.

"Perhaps this is some sort of power play, showing that they are the ones in control of the situation or maybe they are about to attack?" Caius speculated in a low voice. A minute later they walked in. The guard I sent had his head down. I took in Bella's appearance. She had what looked like a bed sheet wrapped around her form in a makeshift toga of sorts and her hair was in disarray. My nose flared as the scent of copulation filled the room.

My emotions went crazy. The audacity of Jasper, touching _my _mate, in _my _home, especially during such a tense situation as negotiating the release of my brothers' wives!

Bella was practically glowing and Jasper had an annoying little smirk on his face. It took everything I had not to pounce from my seat at him. He looked me right in the eyes and his smirk became bigger and he grabbed Bella's hand in his. She didn't seem to notice. She was looking at us, probably trying to read on our faces what we decided.

It took everything I had to suppress my rage.

As they stepped in the middle of the room that was Chelsea's cue to use her gift on them. She stared at them with a look of concentration that quickly changed to panic. She nodded towards Jane and Alec and Jane started trying her gift. Once again they were unaffected. A thin layer of Alec's gift slowly crept towards Bella and Jasper.

Jasper noticed it almost immediately even though when we had this room reconstructed we chose marble floors that looked almost exactly like Alec's gift. He nudged Bella and pointed towards it. She laughed.

"Yes darling I see it. I also saw them try two other gifts before he started his." Bella ran her hand through her hair as the fog of Alec's gift met her shield and simply started to roll over and around it. "Are you all done fooling around? Or must I punish you all for this insolence?"

"Guards! Attack the wall that surrounds her! She can't hold us all off!" Caius shouted. Everyone sprung at once towards her except me. I glimpsed Jasper tense up, but Bella remained unperturbed. She made eye contact with me and raised an eyebrow a second before she was blocked from my view.

More guards swarmed in from other parts of the castle and soon I couldn't see anything but them. Some were scratching against the invisible wall, others were hitting it. I saw Caius trying to dig underneath it to no avail.

Suddenly they were all pushed backwards. Many of the guards flew straight through the walls and ceiling. Bella stood unfazed in the middle of it all, only a slight glint in her eye showing her annoyance.

"Enough of this child's play. I've had twice your numbers of newborns trying the same tactic before. They're all dead now while I remain unscathed." She looked at me and my heart leapt even though I knew the only reason she chose me to speak to was because I was the only one who didn't attack. "Now have you all come to a decision about my terms? Or do I just have to kill you all myself?"

* * *

Stefan's POV

"We should rally the troops." Vladimir said as we looked over the terrace of the castle. Newborns were running drills under the direction of Bella's Peter and Charlotte. Peter's head shot up at Vladimir's words.

"But Bella said-" Peter started to say but I quickly cut him off.

"Now, now, young one, just because you held an important position in Bella's toiling in those pathetic battles does not give you power here." I chuckled as he and Charlotte exchanged a look. She disappeared into the castle then was quickly at our side.

"We were ordered by Bella to not attack the Volturi without her here." She said with complete conviction.

"She may have said this to you, but she also put you two under our command, so obey or die." I growled as I said my warning. If they acted this petulant with Bella they would have lost their heads long ago, so I'll attribute their unruliness to their loyalty towards her.

"But your plan to have her act as an emissary as to weaken their forces will be moot if we attacked now." My growl deepened at her brashness and disregard for my threat.

"Though I love my sister more than my own life she cannot be trusted to fulfill her role as emissary without exacting her own will over the strategy, inevitably clashing with my own plans." Charlotte was momentarily speechless. "I shall warn you only once more out of respect for Bella. Obey or die." Charlotte shrank back a bit and I could see her mate edgily fidgeting.

"Yes, we'll obey." Her eyes were trained on the ground, but I could tell she was speaking the truth.

"Good. I have a mission for you. There is a vampire named Paulos I need you to fetch. He is expecting my beckoning so he should be no trouble."

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**What'cha think? **


	12. Reasons

**Chapter 12: Reasons**

Marcus' POV

She swept aside the prone vampires from her path like they were less than nothing. Bella motioned for Jasper to stay where he was as she walked towards me. I could almost feel my heart beating. She was so close, closer than she had ever been to me.

"Marcus, why is it that you were the only one to not attack me?" Bella was only an arm's length away, but I knew I couldn't touch her.

"I have my reasons." My fingers gripped the armrests of my throne. I had to restrain myself from trying to reach out to her. I could see my brothers and guards standing back up. She hummed in approval of my answer.

"Don't we all?" There was a look in her eyes that made me wonder what her reasons were. Was it really just because she wanted to help her brother? I deliberately squashed any hopes that her reasons could have anything to do with me. Her eyes were distant as she ran a hand through mussed hair. "Well, it seems that your brothers can't play nicely so I'll just have to play with you." I couldn't suppress my grin. Aro and Caius were growling. I could see them, yet they somehow seemed miles away.

"You filthy woman." Aro was hissing out all sorts of insults but we ignored him. "Marcus! She has my mate! Do something!" His voice was hoarse with both desperation and anger, but my eyes remained on Bella. "Marcus!" One of Bella's invisible walls shoved Aro back and through a wall.

"Make him silent, or I'll cut him up." Her voice was deadly while her smile was heavenly. As if to prove her point Alec was sliced in half at the waist. He let out a scream, but quickly muffled it. Jane helped him pull together.

"Aro, under sound advisement I must suggest that you hold your tongue." He, expectedly, didn't take my advice. As he was walking through the newly made hole in the wall and cursing his head somehow became detached from his body.

The room was silent.

None of the current guards, save a handful, had ever seen one of us harmed, let alone decapitated.

"We should take this somewhere in which these flies won't be constantly buzzing about, asking to be swatted." At Bella's words her little pet bristled.

"Bella-"

"Hush." Bella held up her hand in a clenched fist, her eyes still not leaving mine. "I don't need you right now." I could see him glowering at me. He surprisingly didn't protest. She had trained him well.

I stood and offered my arm. She took it, but I could still feel something between us, blocking us. It felt like she was wearing a second skin of her invisible wall. I could see my bond going to her, but stopping infinitesimally close to her skin, yet not touching her. I could still not see her side of the bond towards me.

From what I could read of her facial expression she wasn't worried about leaving her companion in the throne room. I had no doubt that she was keeping him shield and I had the feeling that she had the whole castle in a bubble so that none of us could get away. I sorely wanted to just tell her about our bond, but I'm sure she wouldn't believe me. If I was in her place I would think it was just a ploy to gain some sort of advantage.

I lead her to my personal solar on the opposite side of the castle, far from prying ears. I sat in an armchair, trying to give off an air of ease. She remained standing, surveying the area. Her eyes lingered on one of the bookshelves before they met mine.

"Your terms are completely unreasonable." I said. She didn't acknowledge me at first.

"They are no terms of mine, but I must agree that they are unreasonable by my standards, but if I had a mate, from what I heard of that relationship, to your brothers those terms should be reasonable." Her hands were clasped behind her back, posture completely straight, yet she didn't look nervous, she just looked like a soldier.

"Power blinds them to what truly is important." She nodded at my words. "Something has been puzzling me, Bella. From what you demonstrated earlier you have the ability to cut us all into pieces if you wanted. On the other hand you are putting forward terms that eventually leads to my whole covens annihilation. Both of those lead to the end of the Volturi, just at different paces. If you can slice us up easily it would speed up the whole process, but you haven't done that yet. The way I see it either you really can't kill us all or you don't want Vladimir's and Stefan's terms being met. So which one is it? You must have a reason for not killing us all yet." She looked pleased with my deduction.

"How clever of you, Marcus. I knew I shouldn't have hinted at the strength of my gift, but Aro needed to be silenced. Oh well. What's done is done." She shrugged nonchalantly, but her eyes quickly hardened. "You are quite right on you reasoning. Though trust that my power is not lacking in the ability to destroy you all." Bella finally sat down in one of chairs across from me. Her soldier like posture relaxed into informality. "Stefan and I are not of a like mind on many issues. In a sense the Volturi and the Romanian Coven are two different schools of thought on the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to the beliefs on how much knowledge humans should have on our existence. I find myself on the Volturi's side of the humans' knowledge topic." Bella wasn't looking at me. It seemed to me that she was just thinking out loud. "Many a years have been spent on our arguing.

"That is one of the main reasons you all weren't destroyed when you Volturi stole power from my brother. Had I been there you all would have been dead before you knew it." She laughed to herself. "This leaves me in a very awkward position. If I help my brother destroy you all he will surely reveal his existence to the humans. If I go about not helping him his survival will be cut short."

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**Does this clear things up a bit for you guys? Please review.**


	13. Wasted Years

**Chapter 13: Wasted Years**

Marcus' POV

"I see how that can make you feel conflicted." I didn't quite know how to interpret this new information. "You must have a plan though, why else would you be telling me all this unless you needed my help with it?"

"I have a vague one. It's not refined enough to share, especially not with an enemy." I visibly flinched at her calling me an enemy. "I've revealed some of my information. Now, it's your turn. So pray tell, why were you the only one who didn't attack me?" Bella's head was slightly cocked to the side.

"I had a feeling that such an attack would be futile." She seemed to be measuring up my answer.

"No, that can't be all." Bella paused. "If that was the only reason you would have attacked along with everyone else. There was nothing to lose when it came to attacking me with the rest. If their attack had truly annoyed me I would have counterattacked you all, regardless of who participated simply because you all are the enemy. This is the common sense of war. You had to have known that." Her words trailed off. "So what is the real cause for you not attacking me?"

How could she always read me so easily? Were my lies really that transparent? Or was it because she is my mate that she just knows when I'm bluffing. I felt completely defenseless, both mentally and physically while in front of her. It was a new feeling.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth." I tried to figure out what she was thinking, but her face and body language gave nothing away.

"We've both lived thousands of years. I'm sure we have seen things we once never thought possible. What is one more unbelievable thing to the likes of us?" Bella adjusted her toga, giving me a glimpse of her skin before hiding it again.

"This is something that goes against all logic."

"Like beings living for thousands of years, mind readers, and a little girl who can make almost anyone feel like they are being burned alive. My mind is open to such illogical things." Bella crossed her legs and once again I was reminded of her odd attire. The makeshift toga only showed tame flashes of her skin, but that was more than enough to make me acutely aware of her body.

"Those are physically illogical. This is illogical in the sense Romeo and Juliet." My words trailed off. I half hoped she would figure out what I was implying while the other half was scared that she would.

"Romeo and Juliet? You'll have to forgive me, Marcus, but I live on the battlefield, not in the human world."

"It's a play by William Shakespeare, rather popular. It's not to my taste, but it furthers my point. It's a love story between two members of opposing factions." She narrowed her eyes at me, not liking what I was implying.

"That sounds rather stupid. Humans really need to learn how to control their emotions. An enemy is an enemy, regardless of emotions."

"They were 'star-crossed lovers'. They were bound together by destiny. It was out of their control."

"And how did their tale end?" I frowned.

"In death."

"Rightly so. Now tell me what is it that you are trying to imply, because if it is what I think it is I won't be pleased." Her voice had an edge to it, but I was practically already 'all in'.

"What I am implying is why I couldn't turn away from you when I first saw you, why I was willing to stay even though your troops were running towards me with a killing intent." She was growling, but I was resolved. "You are my soul mate."

"You truly must be desperate." I wasn't surprised by her reaction. "Mates are not something you joke about, not even in war. This is only making me want to kill you all more." Her voice was starting to rise. "Just what do you think you will gain by telling such lies?"

"We would gain each other!" I stood and tried to convey my emotions. "You have no idea how tormented I have been," I started pacing the room, "seeing you, my mate, and not having you for myself. You were in my line of sight then gone! And you tried to have me killed! Then finding out you are related to Stefan! If you just let your invisible wall down-"

"And there is catch!" Bella stood up quickly with her hands on her hips. "You desperate, stupid fool! I've been warned about your gift! I know you see the lines that connect people, see their attachments and relations towards others! I wouldn't be surprised if it could do more, perhaps even manipulate their relations!" I tried to interrupt her, but she was unperturbed. "I recognized one of your guardsmen from when I visited the Egyptian coven while they were still in power! He was their loyalist member! He would never come over to your side in a million years! You vile Volturi and your tricks!" She spit on the ground. "I heard what you did to that small coven in England! Turning one against another until they were all dead!"

"It's not like that!"

"It's exactly like that!" Bella's hands clenched and I could see that she was trying to contain herself. "I should just destroy this whole coven, tear your head from your shoulders, and set the whole place afire!" With a terse shake of her head I could tell she reined her emotions in. "But no, that would be unproductive towards my plans." She seemed to be mulling over my offered information. "Stefan will be most displeased." She mumbled before smiling at me. "You claim to be my mate, that our souls are connected as one. I already have a mate. He is strong, one of the strongest I have ever known." I growled, but I could tell Bella was talking more to herself than me. She sat back down and I mirrored her action. Her red eyes snapped to mine. "What do you have to offer me?"

"Anything, everything." She snorted at my response.

"Anything and everything has always been within my reach. I've just never felt the need to take it." Bella said distantly as I tried to think of a better response.

"We have a shared goal. We both don't want the humans to know of our existence." I tried to reason with her, desperation coloring my voice.

"You state what I already know."

"Perhaps we can come to some accord based on that. I love my brothers, but I'm willing to give them up for you." I said. Bella looked me straight in the eyes, weighing my words before she responded.

"Before I arrived at this dreary place I was set on letting one of you three usurpers live for my plans. Definitely not Aro, he's too arrogant and would only seek revenge. That left me to choose from between you and Caius. If neither of you pleased my criteria I was just going to choose one of your higher ranking members, one that didn't have the mindset of a follower beaten into them." I was confused by her admission. "You're old and inactive. I can tell from your eyes. When was the last time you actually fought anyone in battle?" She was leveling me with a judgmental glare.

"Nine centuries ago." I admitted. Bella looked at me with disapproval and disgust. I felt belittled. Under her steady gaze I felt like a sinner facing God.

"You have a gift, but it is passive. It could be useful in battle from a tactical point of view, but it's not offensive." She looked me over again. "In your lifetime how many vampires have you killed with your own hands?"

"Just under a hundred." Bella let out a bark of a laugh.

"Pathetic, absolutely pathetic. In my toilings in the Americas my Jasper would take down a hundred a month single handedly." Her whole body shuttered with pleasure. "You may have power in this society, but I only value raw power, power that can be put to use. You are not fit to be my mate." I felt ashamed of myself and how I lived this immortal life. How could I have been so pathetic? Before I came in contact with her I had been sad, but content with how I lived. Now it was all different. Looking back on my many years of sitting on a throne, it all looked wasted and futile.

"I can be whatever you need me to be. Can't you see that I'm desperate for your affection, for your approval, for you?" My voice was weak and I kneeled before her, praying for her mercy. She placed her barefoot on my chest before pushing me backwards. I let myself fall. She flicked her hair arrogantly and looked down at me with a glare.

"Remove your clothing." Bella demanded.

"What-"

"You heard me, Marcus, remove your clothing."

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**Am I the only one stoked for the next chapter? How did you like that cliff hanger? Wasn't it just cruel? Gimme your opinions! **


	14. Counting Scars

**Chapter 14: Counting Scars**

Marcus' POV

"_You heard me, Marcus, remove your clothing." _

Who was I to deny such a lascivious demand? I stood eagerly and started stripping off my layers of clothing. I can't remember a time in my life that I was ever this lust filled. Her eyes were critical, but it only served to turn me on more.

"Am I… satisfactory?" I said with a purr and her eyes darkened in what I hoped was lust. She stood and started circling me. I felt the smooth touch of her invisible wall against my skin. She was skimming her fingers against my shoulder blades, just that damn wall between us.

"This scar?" Bella traced a crest mark just under the bend of my right shoulder.

"I lived before the Volturi. I ran into a mated pair. He didn't like that I was staring at his mate. The male attacked me, shortly followed by his mate. I decapitated him, but let them live. He did get in a bite though." I hissed in pleasure when her hand met my next scar. It was on my right hip.

"And this one?"

"A love bite. She used her mouth on me and was angry when I said I wouldn't reciprocate." Bella's hand dipped lower, just inches from where I really wanted them.

"Pathetic. Bitten by a woman over an orgasm or two." Her hand went to my collarbone. There was only a small knick.

"Your brother the day we destroyed his coven. He wasn't that good of a fighter. "

"Stefan was good enough to leave a mark on one of the three faux-kings and live to speak of it." She hissed defensively before laughing. "Though having a gift often makes a vampire's fighting skills dull." Her words distracted me momentarily from her ghost touch.

"He has a gift?" I said without thinking.

"Oh, did I let that slip?" She said sarcastically. I turned towards her and she was grinning wickedly. Bella looked down at my obvious arousal. "Not the biggest I've ever seen, but definitely not the smallest I've ever had."

"Perhaps you should get undressed and let me show you how well I use it." I reached out to touch her, but was met by her invisible wall. She made a tsk-ing noise.

"No one said you could touch." Bella grinned at me, her tongue flicking out to wet her lips. "Though I am tempted to test just how many thrusts it takes to send you over the edge, to test your endurance, your preferred position, and to see the face you make when you reach your peak," I growled wanting to fuck her senseless, "but only three scars?" She stepped back from me. "That only means one of a few things. One of these possibilities is that you are a fantastic fighter, a survivor, but I very much doubt that possibility. You are too inactive, too sheltered, and you don't have the mannerisms of a fighter. Another possibility is that you are just lucky, but I don't believe in luck. That leaves me with thinking that you are just a pitiable, overprotected thrall with no redeeming qualities of any merit to me." With a move that was almost too quick for me to comprehend Bella kneed me in the gut and as I keeled over she grabbed me by the hair, forcing my head back and exposing my neck. Slowly she grazed her teeth against my defenseless neck. I shuttered in pleasure. If it was anyone else doing that I would be petrified with fear. Bella let go of my head and I felt her wall push me to the ground. Gracefully she sat in her chair, hands steepled and eyes distant. "Disgusting." The pressure lifted off me and I stood and sat in my seat, still nude.

"Or perhaps you are just fearful that you won't be able to control your gift while I'm making you cum." Her eyes met mine and she laughed.

"Are you challenging me?" Bella's tone was full of mirth and the pace of her breathing quickened.

"I believe I am challenging you and your control." I leaned forward when I saw the excitement in her eyes. She crossed her legs and rocked in her seat a bit

"My gift, my shield," Bella purred, "it is a part of me, finely honed to past the point of perfection. My will be done." From the corner of my vision I could see a dried rose rise out of a vase. "It can perform many tricks." It disappeared only to reappear right in front of my face a second later. "It can be gentle." A petal was plucked off. "And it can be deadly." The rose was ground into dust. "When I set it somewhere," she lifted her hand and I could see the pads of her fingers flatten against an invisible force, "it stays unless I decide to move it." Bella waved a hand through the spot where her shield once stood. "I only tell you all this for my own entertainment, the look on your face…" She chuckled. "Your 'challenge' though sounding quite fun," Bella glanced down at my erection, "is one that I have already proved to be losing on your part. Have you forgotten that not too long ago Jasper was making me cum, making me scream his name? And may I just say that he was doing it thoroughly and repeatedly." I growled, having completely forgotten that piece of shit in light of recent events. "I'm surprised you all didn't hear."

"How old is that child? I'm sure he hasn't even reached half a millennium. I guarantee that I can do it better than him. That I can make you feel like you never want to leave our bed-"

"Only the bed? Those are so boring."

"The pleasure we could bring each other… All you have to do is put down your shield."

"Are we back to that same old song and dance?" Bella sighed deeply then looked away from me. She leaned against the left armrest. "And things were just starting to get entertaining then you had to bring me to the present again." Her look of boredom saddened me.

"Bella, we are two out of a dozen and a half of the ancients left on this rolling planet. The things we could do to make each other purr in ecstasy… At the top of my list of wants is to have you as my own, second is my life, and third is to be inside of you. " This caught her attention.

"You want to fuck me more than you want your brothers to live?" She seemed delighted.

"I would kill them myself just for the chance to have you laid out naked in front of me." Bella gripped her chair tightly and bit down on her tongue.

"Keep talking like that and I might cum without you even touching me."

"I'm sure that would be a beautiful sight." I said in a low voice. Bella pulled her makeshift dress up slightly, revealing a glimpse of her thigh.

"That makes me wonder what you would do for more than just a sight, say perhaps a touch?" She rested her hand on her knee then slowly moved it upward. I hissed when it disappeared beneath her dress. She whimpered almost silently in pleasure. Her back arched off the chair before she removed her hand and settled back down. With a slow motion she licked the wetness off her fingers. The piece of my seat I was gripping crumbled under my clutch. "So what would you do for a good, hard 'touch'?"

"Anything."

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**I love this chapter. What do you guys think? **


	15. A Story and A Touch

**Chapter 15: A Story and A Touch**

Marcus' POV

"_So what would you do for a good, hard 'touch'?"_

"_Anything." _

Bella stood from her seat and I felt my anticipation grow. She pulled off her makeshift toga in a slow, seductive motion.

"Would you… take up the crown again as an equal to my brother and Vladimir, act as my representative in the Romanian royals?" She was only inches from me and I could smell her arousal.

"When I said anything I meant anything." I restated, my eyes never leaving her curves.

"Good." Bella said and grabbed both of my hands before placing them on her breasts. I grinned happily as I fondled them. Her shield was just a thin, durable layer that I hardly noticed. Leisurely she sat on my lap. "A nice slow fuck… and another piece will be in place for the old regime to take its proper place, but this time they will be more to my liking." Bella placed a hand on my shoulder and shifted closer, kissing my cheek softly. "Marcus, you claim to be my mate. Whether that is true or not is of no concern to me, though I feel compelled to tell you a story before we partake in eachother's bodies. I nodded to her.

"My Sire was very old." I looked at her questioningly, but she didn't care. "In total I've only seen half the years he had seen on the day I killed him. In one of his more generous moments he told me a story. I do not know if it is the truth or just another one of his lies. He said that during his fifth century he met a female vampire. She was gifted with a rather interesting and strong ability. She had the power to make someone instantly recognize the other half of their soul once their eyes met." Bella laughed. "And this is the part where your story becomes a sad one. I am immune to gifts. My shield is both physical and ethereal. If we truly were two halves of an entire soul it wouldn't matter. Her gift might make it so that you would recognize me as your other half, but her gift would have no effect on me. Unless I choose to let my ethereal shield down while looking in your eyes her fabled power would be nothing to me."

"So that is why I can never see your side of relationships with my gift." I mumbled, caught up with her story. Everything made more sense now.

"That would be the reason. So are you still a willing participant in my plan? It is really the only way you are going to get out of this situation alive, the sex is just a byproduct of my arousal." To emphasize her point she shifted her position so that she was straddling me. I slid my hands to her hips.

"Our deal stands till the day you wish otherwise." I said and Bella looked pleased. "Let's just say that having sex is our way of sealing the deal." Bella chuckled.

"We are going to take this slow, but don't assume it's from a lack of control over my gift. No, I can tell that you _need _to be inside of me. This will just be another form of sweet torture foryou." Unhurriedly Bella slid down my length until I was fully sheathed inside of her.

"_Yesssssss_." I hissed in pleasure and bucked upwards.

"No, no, no Marcus. I'm in control of this little game. You don't get to play until I say so." She put her hands on my shoulders for support and started moving her hips. My restraint was already slipping by the third thrust. "You fit me perfectly." Bella whispered. Her eyes were tightly closed and she was biting into her bottom lip. "Fuck me." She ordered and I was more than happy to oblige. Our pace quickened.

"Look at me, Bella. It's my cock you're riding, not anyone else's." I grabbed her by the neck and made her face me. She opened her eyes and grinned at me evilly.

"How did you know I was thinking about Jasper?" I growled at her and thrust as hard as I could. "Harder, Marcus, I'm barely getting any friction here." There was a loud creak and the chair under us broke. I tried to switch our position so that Bella was beneath me. "Ladies on top." She said teasingly and I tried to dig my fingers into her hips, but her shield stopped me

"You are no lady." I said with venom in my voice. Bella threw her head back and laughed loudly.

"Very true." I didn't even need to massage her clit and she was about to reach her peak.

"Are you always this easy to get off Bella, or is it just because you're my mate?" Bella hissed and I squeezed her ass roughly. God her body is sinfully beautiful.

"Maybe you just under-" she shuttered and her walls clenched around me as she came, "underestimate yourself." Her pace didn't slow. "Or maybe I just have my shield fluttering against me in all the right places." I refused to believe that. Every shutter of her body was my doing. "Enough talking, it's your turn to cum."

I desperately wanted to feel her skin against mine, to be able to taste her, but with her shield up I knew this was as close as I was going to get. I pulled out of Bella and sat up. As if she could read my mind she moved so that she was on her hands and knees.

"Beautiful," she was so wet, wet for _me._ I pulled her by the hair as I entered her. Her neck was at an awkward angle and I wanted to mark her, but knew that damn shield would prevent that. Instead I put my frustration into every thrust, trying to memorize ever inch of her body. I held back my orgasm as long as I could, knowing that once I came her end of the deal would be fulfilled. All too soon I released inside of her. My whole body tensed with the power of it. I was still inside of her, not willing to be the one to move away. No orgasm had ever been this strong. She had to see that we are soul mates. There could be no other explanation for the intensity. I felt my soul shatter when Bella stood up. She looked playful and sated.

"In another lifetime I might have taken you as a lover, but never as a mate." I was unsure if this was a complement or insult. Probably both. "Perhaps we should go another round. We do have all the time in the-" Bella stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes turned pitch black and she flinched. "That bastard!" She said in Romanian. "Get dressed now. Stefan is here and I'd wager that he brought an army with him." For a moment I didn't understand what she was talking about, my thoughts still fuzzy from my epic orgasm, but when they registered I dressed quickly, not understanding her anger.

I was saddened when Bella pulled her toga back on, covering up her luscious body. I was more upset when I realized that I would have been able to partake in her body a second time if Stefan hadn't appeared. I followed her irritated steps back to the throne room.

"You have no say in this matter, child! Where is my sister? I know she wouldn't have gone too far from you!" I recognized Stefan's voice from the battlefield, the happenings of that day flooding to the forefront of my mind. I lightly brushed the scar he gave me and growled. Bella glanced back and glared at me, effectively silencing me.

"Stefan! What an unhappy surprise!" Her voice was full of false cheer as we entered the throne room. "You know how much I love when you show up unannounced. Especially when you ghost through my shields!" Bella had her arms wide open, offering a hug. Stefan turned from Jasper and he grinned at Bella. Jasper looked back and forth between Bella and I. He snarled when he put the pieces together. I just grinned. I suddenly hit an invisible wall, halting my walking. Jasper laughed at me as Bella walked toward him, leaving me behind.

Stefan's body suddenly blurred and he walked straight through Bella's many shields and into her waiting arms. His image solidified when they touched. He was almost comically short compared to her. Stefan's head rested on Bella's glorious breast as they hugged. She placed a soft kiss on his forehead before pushing him away and back handing him.

"Did I give you shivers?" He said teasingly and I growled. "Penetrating you shields always give me shivers." Stefan didn't even try to dodge as she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. With her other hand she grabbed his neck and her nails dug deeply into his skin. Venom oozed out of the small wounds before Bella released him and took a step away from him. With a strangely delicate movement she wiped off his venom on the hem of her toga.

"Now is not the time for teasing. Why have you diverged from the plan?" Bella said as she walked over to Jasper. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against him. While looking me straight in the eyes he peppered her neck with kisses. His tongue flicked out and he tasted her. He did what I could not. Rage boiled inside of me and I wasn't the only one. My brothers were angry.

"What did you do with my mate?" Aro shouted and tried to claw through Bella's shield.

"Do I need to silence you again?" Bella said. She was clearly annoyed and Aro wasn't helping the situation. "You must understand by this point that you are only alive because I don't care enough to finish your life for you." Bella turned back to Stefan. "I can feel your numbers outside. Why did you deviate from the plan?"

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**Did you like my explanation on soul mates? Was it original enough for you guys? Was the lemon lemony enough for you? In general, what did you think?**


	16. Insanity

**Chapter 16: Insanity **

Jasper's POV

"_I can feel your numbers outside. Why did you deviate from the plan?" _Bella said as she glared at her brother. I could feel her anger radiating outwards and I sent her waves of calm. She relaxed slightly. Having her in my arms once again was a relief. While she was off with that relic Marcus I had been fretting on the inside, worrying about his feelings towards her. I couldn't smell him on Bella probably due to her using her shield, but when I looked at Marcus I could tell. She had used his body for whatever reason. Even if it hurt my ego it truly didn't matter. He would be dead soon.

"Bella, you and I both know that our plan was going to be altered either by one or both of us. I bet you've already changed a few things around." Stefan said nonchalantly. He believed what he was saying.

"Regardless of what was unsaid yet known I am still angry. Me being here is a favor to you. I don't like when you take my favor, throw it on the ground, then spit on it." Stefan laughed.

"You would have been here regardless. Once you knew that the Volturi regime was shaken and off balance you were going to come and either right it or manipulate the new regime to mirror it." Stefan growled and Bella's anger spiked up again. She had told me many times that whenever her anger got to this level for me to do my best to calm her. I sent her ease, lethargy, and vigilance. They mixed together to make her feel calm yet still alert. Bella twisted around in my arms and kissed me.

"Thank you Jasper." She turned back to her brother. "On another day when I am not feeling the need to burn you we shall have a fight with no gifts and I'll remind you to respect me and my decisions." Stefan didn't look pleased but nodded. "Good. Marcus!" From the corner of my eye I saw him stand a bit taller.

"Yes, Bella?"

"Your gifts show the relationships between others. Does it show you their loyalties?" He nodded. "Who are solely loyal to you and who have few loyalties to the Volturi? Remember that I'll know when you are lying and remember our deal." Bella commanded. Stefan looked at us suspiciously but before he could voice his concerns Caius and Aro started shouting at Marcus.

"What deal? Have you betrayed us? Surely you can't choose her over us. We are your brothers!" Caius yelled and hissed. He tried to make his way to Marcus, but one of Bella's shields kept them apart.

"She has our mates, Marcus! For any love you held for me or my sister you can't side with that _woman_! Didyme was your mate! This woman is just using some sort of gift on you. Any deal she made with you is a trick where you die in the end." The desperation in their voices couldn't convey the panic and fear they were actually feeling. Marcus didn't acknowledge them. He only felt a twinge of guilt but, it was buried beneath his determination and acceptance.

"That woman over there in the blue dress, Chelsea. She manipulates relationships. When she is dead I'll be able to see their true relationships." Said woman was sliced by Bella's shields. A sconce from the wall floated down and set her on fire. After she was completely ashes a few of the Volturi guards cringed in pain. Those that did felt surprised then lots of anger. Marcus was one of them. "You bastard!" Marcus hissed while looking at Aro. "You had Chelsea use her gift on me! When, Aro, when did you do this to me?" Aro laughed and I could feel his sanity slip away.

"I had her do it just after I killed Didyme!" Aro fell to the ground from laughing so hard. He was clutching his sides and his mirth was mixed with chaos. Marcus was genuinely confused and for a second I pitied him. "She begged me not to kill her, even said she would stay with the Volturi, but she foolishly forgot that I could read her every thought! I saw her plans to leave with you! I saw how you defiled her every night! How she loved tasting you! Didyme was too good for you and you were going to take her away from me! It was the obvious course of action. Didyme had to die! And when she was burned I opened my guts up and put her ashes inside of me so that we would never part again!" He was still laughing as he gauged a hole into his stomach. Aro reached inside himself and pulled out a dark slime. "Sweet Didyme! And when I get Sulpicia back I will burn her too and put her in my gut so she can never be apart from me again!" Caius was sincerely shocked and horrified. Aro covered his face in the slime before he started eating it. I felt physically sick. Bella slashed his head off again and it went rolling on the floor, spreading the gunk.

"That was disturbing." Bella said curtly. "When we are done setting the Romanian coven in power you can torture him however you see fit, Marcus."

"You say that like he is going to be alive at the end of this day." Stefan narrowed his eyes at Bella and I could feel his annoyance.

"We will discuss that matter later." They looked like they were having a silent conversation. He finally looked at the ground, breaking their eye contact. "Marcus tell me which ones are loyal to the Volturi and which ones are only loyal to you or loyal to someone outside of the Volturi." With each person he categorized Bella separated them into one of two groups. "Which ones are gifted?" He named them off and their gifts and I was surprised by how much talent they had. Bella separated them again. "Shall we let these seven who are gifted and not loyal to the Volturi have the option to join your guard?"

"You trust Marcus' statement that they aren't loyal to the Volturi?" Stefan asked skeptically and Bella laughed.

"Of course not. I trust Jasper's gift to be able to tell when Marcus is lying." I felt a bit proud.

"You seven are free to join if you'd like. We aren't like the Volturi. We won't manipulate your relationships." Only three joined.

"You other ones not invested with the Volturi are allowed to go free." They were quick to leave. "Which ones are gifted out of the rest of them?" Once Marcus finished pointing them out Bella sliced them up. They were ash before they even knew they had been attacked. The only Volturi left intact in the throne room was Caius, Marcus, and the other ungifted ones who were dedicated to the Volturi. Some of them were begging for their lives, two were fucking, but most of them were feeling resigned.

"Why haven't you killed the rest of them?" Stefan asked.

"We will use them to thin out the numbers of ungifted newborns that you brought for battle." Bella felt slightly excited at the prospect of a fight.

"Good idea." I whispered into her ear and let her feel my lust.

"Those that win are allowed to leave with the promise that they won't be hunted down." Stefan added. "Those that lose will be killed immediately."

"Vladimir should be here. Jasper, they are just outside the walls of the city to the North. Bring them to me." Her emotions were taken from me as she released me from her shield. I assumed she threw up new ones to keep the Volturi from attacking me. I ran through the empty halls and street. The whole city smelled faintly of corpses and ash. I jumped the curtain wall and was immediately surrounded by newborns. I crouched defensively.

"Back off." Peter said and the troops did immediately. I stood and gave a polite nod to Vladimir when I saw him.

"Bella and Stefan request your presence. She gave no specifications for the rest of you." I said with my eyes downcast. I knew how to play the game of subservience, even though I didn't like it when I had to be submissive with anyone but Bella.

"We all go then." Vladimir announced. He turned to a vampire I was unfamiliar with. "Paulos, you are dismissed." There was a loud crack and the man disappeared along with the dirt at his feet. Vladimir ran point with Charlotte and Peter brought up the rear. The large throne room was starting to feel crowded. Vladimir and Bella hugged each other briefly. "Bella, Stefan?" He asked.

"We were just about to discuss my seat as the third ruler." Bella let me back through her personal shield and I could feel her emotions again as I wrapped my arms around her.

"We were?" Stefan asked, feeling suspicious.

"Yes, we were." Bella said before she turned towards the troops. "Ah, but on a side-note: Peter, Charlotte," they stepped forward, eyes downcast, "you shall be punished later on for your insubordinance for bringing the troops here earlier than I ordered you to."

"Yes Mistress." They said in unison. Bella nodded and they stepped back to where they were previously. Someone's lust went up and I looked for the source. I should have known it would be Marcus. He was staring at my Bella like she was the only woman in the world. I almost felt bad for him. He just looked so pathetic. I held Bella a bit tighter. She was mine.

"As you were saying, Bella." Stefan prompted.

"Oh yes, well as you know I don't like playing as ruler so I've decided to have a representative take my place until I decide otherwise."

"That seems fair enough. Who did you have in mind?" Vladimir said. His eyes were on the headless body of Aro.

"Marcus."

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**Aro being fucking crazy wasn't in my outline, but it fit to perfectly so I had to add it.**

**Let me know your thoughts.  
**


	17. Rewards

**Chapter 17: Rewards**

Jasper's POV

"_Marcus." _Bella said. Stefan was instantly angry. Vladimir on the other hand was mildly curious.

"What makes you think this Volturi piss-ant will represent your interests without letting his own get in the way?" Stefan glared at Marcus and he was suddenly a blur. He went straight to Marcus and a second after he solidified he had Marcus laid out prone, neck completely exposed. "He can hardly defend himself and you expect him to be a ruler?"

"And you said he wasn't a good fighter." Bella commented while looking at Marcus. He felt ashamed. She looked at Stefan and glared. He was still holding Marcus down. "He doesn't have to be a fighter. We have guards for that. Marcus and I have made an agreement and I know he will hold up his end. If he ever does something that directly harms the coven you have my permission to kill him."

"That sounds reasonable, Stefan. It is a win-win situation. Bella gets to go wreak havoc on the town folk and we get to rule with just a fly on the wall." Vladimir shrugged, obviously the more relaxed of the two.

"There are no win-win situations when it comes to Bella." Stefan growled out. He glared at Bella and I held her tighter when I sensed how extreme his anger was. I felt a bit of playfulness come from Bella. I looked down at her and she was grinning slightly. He immediately blurred and a large gash appeared directly behind him on the wall. I couldn't feel his emotions when he was like that. When he rematerialized his anger was completely gone, replaced by amusement.

"Let's talk about the catch after we get a little entertainment. Charlotte!" Said blond stepped forward. "Our newborn numbers are a bit high considering there will be no battle." Charlotte's eyes lit up and she bounced up and down.

"Yes, yes, yes! I shall arrange it all now!" Enthusiasm laced her words. "Shall the gifted newborns join in?" Bella shook her head no. "Even better!"

"Those Volturi against the wall are playing too. If they can win they get their freedom." I said and Bella nodded in approval.

"They have 27 left to our 53."

"Are you seriously about to play one of your little games, Bella?" Stefan sounded annoyed, but he was actually feeling fondness, as if her actions sparked a happy memory.

"Of course I am! These tournaments are a great way to ease the tension and to dwindle away at the numbers! We'll have five brackets, five winners, five survivors! That means 16 per bracket!" The Volturi and our newborns were all feeling wary of Bella's plan. All of them had an undercurrent of fear. "Charlotte you are in charge of randomizing the different vampires into the brackets, Peter fetch six chairs for us and put them by those thrones, Marcus gather any material and records on vampires and covens that will help with the new regime."

"Is that a wise decision, letting Marcus go off on his own?" Stefan was emotionally tired for some reason.

"Trust me, Brother." Bella walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek lightly. His emotions became more relaxed. "If you haven't figured it out yet," Bella said to the newborns and Voltuir, "the only way you are going to live past today is by competing in my tournament. Beheading your opponent counts as a win. You have to win four battles and you will be set free from my and the Romanian's control." The dread in the room increased tenfold. "I'll give you all an hour to discuss strategies and to get mentally prepared." Bella motioned for me as she walked out of the throne room.

"Yes?" I was confused by her sudden exit.

"It is time for us to collect the spoils of war. Since there are no humans we will have to settle with treasures." I nodded and let her excitement overtake me. We ran from room to room tearing them apart in search of anything we liked. She pulled a painting down from the wall and I gave her a questioning look. "For my parlor back in Romania." She delicately dismantled the frame and rolled the painting up. We had to eventually call in Peter and Charlotte to carry the various items from jewels to satchels of sweet smelling herbs. We reached a room that smelled of Aro and a female vampire. That's where we found the rarest of items. Bella pulled off her toga suddenly and I was instantly aroused. Before I could act she had on one of the gowns from the large closet. She pulled out a few more and set them on the bed for us to take. Peter and Charlotte ran off to the throne room with our spoils. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her snug against me. She felt slightly shocked before amusement and lust set in.

"You let him touch you." I accused. I couldn't hide my hurt and jealousy. She cut me off from her emotions as she turned to face me.

"Technically he didn't touch me due to my shield, but that is a moot point. I don't need to justify my actions or who I use for my carnal desires, especially not to you of all people." Her voice didn't give away any emotions. "You know what this is Jasper. I may not feel for you the way you love me, but it is the closest I've ever been to love in centuries. If I wasn't deeply fond of you we wouldn't even be having this conversation. You would be on the same level as Peter, a soldier in a high position in my army." Bella was silent for a moment thinking. "In my heart you are only second to Stefan." Her words soothed my soul, but I still felt a twinge of sadness.

"Was he better than me in pleasing you?" I growled out.

"If he was do you think I would tell you?" She teased.

"Yes, I think you would just to get a rise out of me." My mood lightened and she let me feel her emotions again.

"I wouldn't have known him to be a man if I hadn't seen that thing dangling between his legs. He barely had three scars, and one of them was from a woman he was having sex with!" Bella laughed loudly. "Did you notice his strange eye color and skin texture?" I nodded. "Well that only happens when a vampire is inactive for centuries." She snorted and I could feel her disgust. "What I'm trying to say is that he is a grain of sand of masculinity while you are a mountain of masculinity and virility." Warm pride bloomed in my chest. I scooped her up in my arms and started running back to the throne room. She raised an eyebrow at me.

"The hour's up." I said simply. Bella felt amused, but didn't respond. Instead she laughed and started tracing my scars. I plopped down on one of the seats and positioned Bella so that she sat on my lap. I put a possessive hand on her silk covered thigh. From my far left I felt Marcus' anger and jealousy. It only made my own glee rise. Stefan and Vladimir had taken the two remaining thrones and I took the seat to the right of them. Charlotte and Peter had taken the seats to the left of the two Romanian kings and Marcus sat off to the side apart from us all.

"I assume you explained the rules to them?" Bella asked Charlotte and she nodded. "And the mate rule?" She nodded again. The mate rule was of my own creation. It stated that mates were to always be put in different rackets so that they didn't have to fight each other. Peter later added on that one mate had the option to fight in both their own place and their mate's.

"We have one mated pair, and that blond ancient has questions for you." Charlotte pointed to Caius. His anger had simmered down and contorted into determination while we were gone. Bella looked at him and beckoned him to speak.

"Bella-"

"Mistress Bella." I corrected. His anger went back up, but he quickly got it back under control.

"_Mistress _Bella, is my mate still alive?" Bella glanced to her brother for confirmation.

"The two faux-queens are still alive, but we shall be killing Sulpicia when my brother returns home." Caius felt relived, but his determination became more intense.

"If I win will you let both me and my mate go?" He pleaded, yet there was still an arrogant edge to his tone. Bella glanced to Vladimir and Stefan in question.

"This is your game, Bella. You make the rules." Vladimir said and Stefan remained silent.

"Why should we release Athenodora on the very slim chance you win all four of your battles?" She was baiting him. Caius struggled to keep in control.

"I will abdicate any claim I had as a king of the vampire race and I'll swear to never attack your coven or the members of your coven, including Marcus." He sneered at his once brother's name. I could feel which parts he was telling the truth about.

"All truths until the part about not attacking Marcus." I whispered into Bella's ear.

"I accept your terms. On the off chance you win we shall release Athenodora into your care so long as you swear those things."

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**The tournament was another part that wasn't in my outline, yet fit so perfectly that I had to add it in.**


	18. Tournament

**Chapter 18: Tournament **

Marcus' POV

Bella and Jasper were gone by the time I got back to the throne room while carrying thirteen volumes of vampire history as well as ten books on the weaknesses of the different covens.

I was still reeling from Aro's confession of killing Didyme. I knew the years had chipped away slightly at his good sense, but I had no idea he was crazy enough to kill his own sister, let alone shove her ashes in this stomach. I was almost glad that the Romanians had taken Sulpicia. She shouldn't have to see her husband this disturbed. Though she was a bit deranged herself. Had she known? I banished the though. It didn't matter if she did. She would be dead sooner than later.

I could tell Caius didn't know about his betrayal. He was always the most grounded of the three of us. When he heard Aro's confession his relationship towards my former brother was deeply damaged.

I tried to catch Caius' eyes to convey my silent support, but he wouldn't look my way. I tried to see how damaged our relationship was, but one of Bella's shields separated us and made my gift practically useless. At least it helped me see where her shields stood.

It was probably best that my relationship with Caius had been weakened by my betrayal. It was easier to see him die knowing that he holds no love for me anymore. Long ago he had been a great fighter, but the same way time had dulled my fighting skills they have surely dulled his as well. Caius kept moving around, stretching, practicing, and pacing. I could already see the white tint over his eyes fading.

All the guards had abandoned him, consciously not looking in his direction. Some of the guards were sparring, but most were fornicating, knowing it was the end. The Romanian troops were much calmer. From what I heard of their talking most of them were already prepared to die. They kept mentioning tips Peter gave them on hand to hand combat.

The soft sound of Bella laughing caught my attention. I looked up from my seat and saw that marred man carrying _my_ Bella. She was tracing one of his scars just above his collarbone. He sat on one of the chairs with Bella on his lap. That bastard put his hand on her thigh and I wanted to tear him apart, yet another part of me wanted to be him. She _wanted _him.

I felt my old cover of apathy seep in as I prepared myself for the likely death of the last person I considered family. I felt a pang of hope when Bella accepted Caius' terms.

The blond female, Charlotte, acted as announcer and strutted around revealing who was in which bracket. Caius was put in the last bracket.

I was surprised by the skills the Romanian newborns showed. They seemed to favor a fighting style that emphasized going for a quick kill while keeping the body guarded. I could easily see how that style would come in handy on a battleground where one newborn could be faced with a whole mob. In contrast my old coven members didn't really try to guard themselves. They had gotten sloppy since Jane and Alec were usually there to overwhelm any threats.

The first winner was a Romanian. His fighting style was slightly different and he was physically the oldest of everyone in the room.

"My friend!" Bella said loudly while making a flourishing movement to the winner. "You are free to go, but you are also free to join us. Tis your decision." The man declined, citing that he wanted to see the world and never fight again. Bella looked slightly baffled at his answer, but let him go.

The second winner was another Romanian male. He also declined Bella's invitation to join. In the third bracket was one of the mates. Her mate demanded to fight in her place… then promptly lost. His mate was completely distraught, but before he could be burned Bella stopped them. Instead she cut up the female and fed her to the fire, since technically it was her loss. The male would be put back together right before his own fight.

The third winner was another Romanian, this time a female.

"Cast aside the idea of going with my brother to his coven, you are a warrior!" Bella said cheerfully. "Come with me and I can offer you battles, victories, and enough fighting to sate you for years to come." The female accepted the position and stood with Charlotte and Peter. The mated pair seemed to accept her and were already regaling her with stories about their time in the Americas.

The fourth bracket had the male who's mate just died. He promptly gave up much to Bella's disappointment.

"Come now, young man. You must fight. I shall make you a deal." He didn't even look up at Bella as she spoke. His tie to his mate was completely shattered now that she was dead. I sympathized somewhat with his pain. "I was the one to kill your mate. I did so with much joy." The male looked up, startled and lunged at Bella. Her shield prevented his progress. "If you can win in your bracket than I shall fight you without using my gift. If you win against me then I will allow you to kill me." She turned slightly to Jasper. "If a newborn ever beats me darling burn my bits would you?" He chuckled at her, but didn't respond. Bella looked at the newborn. "This is your one and only chance to avenge your mate."

"Fine. It's a deal." The male growled out, glaring at Bella.

"Superb!" Bella said with a smile. Jasper laughed and pulled Bella closer to him. "You may begin." Bella waved at the two men in the middle of the throne room. They circled each other a few times before the unmated one attacked… and promptly won. "Well that was a disappointment."

One of the Volturi guards I never really paid attention to won the fourth bracket.

The fifth bracket, the one with Caius in it, started. As much as I tried to suppress the love I feel towards my once brother for so many millenniums, it came forth and it was only second to the guilt. He was one of the few people who knew me before the devastation of Didyme's death crippled me emotionally. So many centuries… but, no, I have to believe in his fighting skills.

Caius' first opponent was a fellow Volturi member. Their match was close. The guard actually took Caius arm clean off, but Caius persevered. His second opponent was a female Volturi. He grinned. She had been one of his personal guards so he knew all about how she fought. Caius knew all of her tricks and used his knowledge to swiftly dispatch her to the afterlife. The third opponent he had to face was a Romanian male. His eyes weren't as red as most of the newborns, but he was definitely under a year and a half into this life. Caius made the first assault. He aimed a jab high, but the Romanian saw it coming and deflected the blow down and to the right. Caius tried to recover from the faulted movement, but the newborn grabbed his arm before he could move back. There was a loud screeching noise and it was over. My brother was fed to the fire and I could do nothing to help him.

"Are you happy, Bella?" Stefan asked once the tournament was done.

"Somewhat. It's never as fun when I have to sit on the side line. I was truly hoping that one young man who lost his mate would win so I'd have a reason to dirty my hands." Bella huffed slightly. "Regardless, we have important matters to talk about, one of which pertains to my representative Marcus."

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**I was undecided on whether to let Caius live or not. Do you agree with my decision?**


	19. An Outlook

**Chapter 19: An Outlook**

Jasper's POV

The throne room was cleared out so that it was only me, Bella, Stefan, Vladimir, and Marcus. Bella's brother kept glaring at me, not seeing me as relevant to their conversation. He and Vladimir were standing across from us and Bella was still in my lap.

"Calm, Stefan. I like having his arms around me. Unlike most people, I actually trust him." Bella snuggled up closer to me to prove her point. Vladimir didn't care, Stefan was annoyed, and as usual Marcus was burning with anger and jealousy towards me.

"Fine Bella. Now what are these important matters you spoke of?"

"First, before we talk about those I want you to acknowledge that I was of paramount importance to you overthrowing the Volturi."

"I will concede this point, as will Stefan." Vladimir said before Stefan could start arguing. Stefan glared at Vladimir briefly before nodding in agreement.

"Very good. As one of the three in control of this empire I must strongly advise you on something before you all set off to do whatever it is that you all plan on doing once I'm on my way back to the Americas." She looked at the two of them intently, making sure she had their full attention. "It would be to all of our advantages if we keep the knowledge of our species from the humans." Before she could even finish the sentence Vladimir and Stefan were pissed off and ready to pounce.

"You can't be serious!" Vladimir shouted. "One of the reasons we hated the Volturi so much is because they made us hide in the shadows, now you want us to carry on their idiotic policy? The humans need to know of us, to fear us like they used to. To beg at our feet and worship us like we deserve." He felt complete conviction.

"Worship us like we deserve? We deserve nothing but their blood, lives, and anything else we can take with our own hands. Their worship? Don't be so haughty. Why do you even care about the thoughts of such lowly creatures?" He felt slightly belittled at Bella's words, but still self-righteous.

"It's not about who they worship." Stefan interjected. "It's about us not needing to hide ourselves."

"Have you all been cooped up so long planning the destruction of the Volturi that you've missed the changes going on around this world?" Bella slipped out of my arms so that she could face Vladimir and Stefan face to face. "It's nearly the 1900s! That may mean nothing to you, but it does to the world around us." Bella took in a deep breath and I could feel her confidence in what she was saying. "Can't you see it? This world is on the precipice of change! And it's the humans, not us, that are driving it forward!"

"Surely you can't-" Stefan started.

"I am serious. We have seen so much change, but this is different. I know it, Stefan! Very soon, I can feel it, the humans shall create more and more fantastical machines! Have you seen these new devices called light bulbs? They are amazing, but they illuminate the night like no contained fire can. Quickly they will spread to all the corners of the world. They use steam to move things now. My trip across the ocean was mind bogglingly quick! It used to take me two months by boat to make the trip, but now it takes a week!

"Do you really think they will stop, Stefan, Vladimir?" She asked and neither of them responded. "Even if we took over the world today, if we suppressed them, destroyed all the technology pass the bronze age they would still move forward!" Bella started pacing and I could feel her worry. "They would still have the knowledge that things such as exploding powder is possible to make. And no matter what we do they shall always have the urge to create, to build on their ancestors' accomplishments, to surpass them!"

"Bella, you over estimate their abilities." Vladimir said, but I could feel his hesitance and trust towards her and what she was trying to tell him. Stefan remained silent.

"Very soon the day shall come. All we can do is place our own in human positions of power, monitor their creations and put them towards our own purposes." Bella walked close to Stefan. "Trust me brother. Have I ever led you astray in such serious matters?" He was staring at her, weighing her words. "Answer me, Stefan."

"No, Bella, you have never led me astray on what really matters."

"While you two were scheming on how to get the vampire world under your hold, I was watching over the humans and their technology. You two are too shortsighted for your own good, despite your many years. Think deeply on what I said." Bella kissed Stefan on the cheek and did the same to Vladimir. "You shall come to the same conclusion once you look at this world."

"Is this why you are sticking us with Marcus Volturi as your stand in?" Stefan growled out, even though he wasn't angry. His emotions were still set on curiosity and apprehension.

"Partially, yes, but another reason is it will make for an easier transfer of power. They will see Marcus and know that the Romanians hold the same strength, if not more, that the Volturi once did. They will see a familiar face. He also has a useful gift." Bella nodded towards Marcus and he felt prideful. "He will not betray you all. If he does, as I said earlier, you have my permission to destroy him in any manner you find fitting." Bella turned towards me and held out her hand. I walked to her and took her hand. "All you need to do is keep the secret of our kind. Beyond that I don't care what you do as long as you leave me the Americas to play in."

"We shall think over what you said."Vladimir declared. "I am feeling slightly swayed to your line of thinking."

"I am glad." Bella turned so that she was facing me. She reached up, lacing her arms around my neck. I leaned down and she gave me one of her rare, mind-blowing kisses. "I need to exchange words with Marcus in private then we can leave." I held her a bit tighter then let her go. She cocked her head to the side and Marcus followed her out of the room.

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**The next chapter is the final one. It's short, but powerful. **

**Review.  
**

**PS: I started a new story. Feel free to check it out!  
**


	20. An Endless Future

**Chapter 20: An Endless Future**

Marcus' POV

"_I need to exchange words with Marcus in private then we can leave."_ Bella's statement to Jasper simultaneously filled me with hope and horror. She motioned for me to follow her, so I did. I stayed a few steps back just so I could admire her form and the way she walked. I dedicated every movement she made to my memory.

Would this really be the last time I'd see her in who knows how long? Why would the Gods grace me with a mate only to have her feel nothing towards me?

Our walk out of the others' earshot came to an end all too quickly. Bella looked at me and there was no signs of affection in her eyes.

"If you hurt my brother or Vladimir I will make it my personal goal to spend the rest of my existence slowly torturing you till you no longer know who you are, till you've screamed longer than the years you've been on this earth. I will torture you to past the point of insanity and I will love every second of it." Her threat was punctuated with a growl. I backed away from her slightly.

"We made a deal Bella. I am going to keep it. Whatever choices they make I plan to support them wholeheartedly. This is my new life and I'm embracing it and I am letting go of my Volturi past."

"Good." She nodded and paused, reading my expression. "You look like you want to say more."

"Please reconsider leaving, Bella, I am your soul mate."

"So you say." Bella shrugged and I felt defeated. "Regardless of the truth behind your claim I am leaving with Jasper to do what I do best, fight." Bella gave me a final nod before she started walking back to the throne room.

I was stunned and dread filled every piece of me, that is until a realization hit me and a thread of hope formed, winding its way around my heart.

I'll play her game of denying me. I can wait as long as it takes. It may be a century before she trusts me enough to let down her shield, causing her to see that we are soul mates, or it may take a millennium. With an eternity at my feet a waiting game is a game I shall eventually win.

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**So… what do ya think? Do you like the ending? It's the last chapter you sorta have to leave me a review!  
**


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